Little Birds of Brockton Bay
by Dis Lexic
Summary: I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...
1. Chapter 1

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **...I'm bored and feel like doing a Sekirei story. Theres really no other reason I'm doing this. Its technically not a full on crossover since I'll be replacing some Sekirei, their based in the US, the Sekirei plan isn't a thing and Minaka probably got squished by Leviathan or is locked up in the loony bin. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

 _"Theres something wrong with this picture,_ " I thought as I stared up at the starry sky above me.

I was still half asleep, so it took me a moment to register just was was off.

"Wait, what happened to my ceiling?" I muttered.

Then, I sat bolt upright, looking around wildly as what I'd just said sank in. I wasn't in my bedroom, instead I was in a rather grimy alleyway, sitting on a pile of stinking binbags.

"Um...O...K?" I said slowly, "Where am I and how the fuck did I get here?"

I lifted my hand to scratch my beard, only to find my fingers touching bare skin. I blinked and quickly rubbed my cheeks, only to find a small amount of patchy fuzz.

"What the hell?" I muttered, more than a little put out.

I liked my beard damn it! I looked down and my frown deepened as I realized that I seemed to be a little smaller than I remembered. I was never a big guy, but now I looked even thinner and smaller than I had been the day before. Whats more, my clothes (which I thankfully had on since I normally slept in my undies) were a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt I recognized as being from my wardrobe. From about seven years ago. Even if I hadn't grown that much, it still should have been been a little tight.

"What the actual fuck is going on?" I muttered as I scrambled out of the pile of rubbish and made my way to the edge of the alley.

As I did, I walked past a patch of graffiti. Now, that normally wouldn't be enough to make me stop, but for some reason, the defacement made me pause and take a second look. It was a green and red chinese style dragon coiled up and spitting a fireball that formed the letters ABB. I stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out why that was so important. Then, it clicked and I went white.

"Oh fuck!"

I ran for the entrance of the alley and looked out. Across the street from me, the warehouse that had been stood there had collapsed, giving me an excellent view of the city across the massive bay, the large tanker sunk in the entrance and the floating, glowing rig in the very middle of the water. I took a moment to gape, before I pulled my head back and slumped against the wall.

"Shiiiiiit," I breathed, "Thats not good."

So, to take stock, I'm apparently in Worm, may have been de-aged and am likely in the most dangerous part of the city at night. This...won't end well. Fucking ROBs.

I stayed where I was for a moment, before pushing off the wall and starting down the alley away from the bay. I couldn't stay here all night, not unless I wanted to get stumbled on by a Merchant. I'd rather not be another statistic thanks.

I made my way through the maze of dark streets, thinking hard while doing my best to keep an eye out for trouble. I...had no idea what to do now. As far as I could tell, I didn't have any powers, my pockets were empty, not that any money from my pockets would be any use in America anyway, and my knowledge of Worm was spotty at best. I mean, I knew the basics and had a rough idea of the events at the start and the endgame, but it was nowhere near enough to pass as a Precog. If I tried, I'd be fingered as a fake and tossed out on my ear in moments. Or thrown in the loony bin.

The only other thing I could think to try was to get the Cauldrons attention, but that was a...HORRIBLE idea. I couldn't pay for a Vial and I can't help but think that they'd be more likely to put a bullet in me than deal with me. Plus, I did NOT like the idea of being in dept with that bunch of psychos…

BOOM!

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden explosion and looked up, just in time to see a huge pillar of fire erupt from the warehouse across the street and a dark shape falling towards me…

CRASH!

"Owww, that hurt," I groaned as I sat up, rubbing my head.

Then I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with a shocked looking Taylor Hebert. How do I know she looked shocked when she wears a full face mask? Because her mask and costume had been burnt and torn rather badly, to the point where only one eye was covered and most of her face was clearly visible.

Then a sound from above made me look up again, before I was forced to jump up with Taylor in my arms as a very pissed off Lung landed where we had been sitting with a loud crash.

"AH ILL OOO!" roared the rage Dragon.

"MEEP!" I yelped and scarpered.

The part of my mind not busy panicking noted that I shouldn't be able to run as fast as I was unencumbered, let alone with a girl in my arms. Taylor was a lightweight, but so was I. I might be skinny, but I was also an inactive geek with very little in the way of muscle. Guess whatever dropped me here gave me a boost, so that was nice. Not enough to fight, but more than enough to flee like a coward.

Then again, I was running away from a very angry Rage Dragon, so I'm not sure if thats cowardice or just being smart.

What was less smart was the fact I was still carrying Taylor. Not that I thought that I should have left her to die or something, but unlike me, she did actually have powers and had taken Lung down in Canon, so she should have been fine. Then again, she didn't get smacked off the roof or her costume destroyed in canon, so maybe not.

I glanced down at the girl in my arms...and nearly tripped as I saw the expression on her face. Considering we were being chased by one of the scariest Capes in the Bay and she was basically unmasked to a complete stranger, I had expected fear or worry at the very least. Instead, she looked...well, aroused. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes hooded, she was breathing rather heavily and practically radiating heat. The fuck?

A moment later, Taylors eyes widened and she started squirming.

"Whoa, hold still!" I hissed, "Unless you want to...GHU!"

I stumbled as Taylor elbowed me in the gut, making me loosen my grip enough that she could squirm loose and start backing away.

"Y-you...what are you doing to me?" she demanded, although her voice was rather breathy and she seemed to be having trouble standing.

"I'm not doing anything," I wheezed, "Other than saving your ass from Lung that is."

Taylor shook her head as she wavered on her feet.

"Y-you must be doing s-something," she said, "My body feels...so hot...I…"

Without thinking, I jumped forwards as her legs collapsed, catching her in my arms.

"Whoa, are you alright?" I asked, "Are you sick?"

I didn't think she was since, as I previously mentioned, she seemed more aroused than ill. Plus, this reaction was pinging something in my memory, like I knew what was causing it. Why that I was I don't know though.

Taylor squirmed weakly for a moment, before she looked up, met my eyes and relaxed.

"I...don't wanna be Mastered…" she slurred as her eyes clouded over.

Then, before I could react, she lent up and kissed me.

What happened next wasn't even close to being at the top of what I expected to happen after getting beamed into the Worm-verse. The moment Taylors lips touched mine, I felt something warm surge through me and into her, before the alley was lit up by a brilliant rainbow coloured light. Taylor broke the kiss as her back arched and, with a moan that I did NOT expected to come out of her mouth, a pair of massive, butterfly-like wings erupted from her back with a very familiar crest between them. A crest that consisted of a wagtail, four magatama and a yin-yang symbol.

Ahhh, wut?

Unfortunately, the revelation that Taylor was somehow a Sekirei (seriously WHAT?!) would have to wait because the light from the Winging had attracted Lungs attention. The Dragon came crashing around the corner, spotted us, and erupted into even more powerful flames as he started sprinting towards us on all fours.

"BURN!" he roared.

Before I could react, Taylor moved.

" **By the Swarm of my Contract, my Ashikabi's fears will be devoured,"** she said and pointed at Lung, **"Beelzebub."**

Instantly, the darkness around us became alive as a humungus swarm of bugs appeared from nowhere and descended on Lung like a biblical plague. He roared in fury and released a blast of fire that did dick all to the swarm. However, it did allow me to get a glimpse of the insects and I realized that they definitely weren't natural ones. Not when they were scarabs the size of my hand. It didn't take long for Lungs roars of rage to become ones of pain and panic as boiling blood began to flow and the massive bugs began to burrow under his scales. He flailed, swinging his arms in an attempt to get the insects off him, but it did nothing but make him lose his balance and fall into the swarm. Within seconds, he was covered and his screams were cut off as the bugs started crawling down his throat.

I swallowed. This was...this wasn't right. Lung was scum, but he didn't deserve to be eaten alive like something out of the Mummy.

"Hey, thats enough," I said, putting a hand on Taylors shoulder.

No response. I looked at her and saw that her eyes were strangely glazed. That can't be good. I grabbed both shoulders and shook her.

"Hey, can you hear me?" I said, "Thats enough! If you keep going, you'll kill him! TAYLOR!"

At the sound of her name, Taylor snapped out of whatever trance she was in. She blinked as her eyes cleared. She blinked a couple of times, before her gaze focused on my face and she went red.

"EEP!"

She shoved me in the chest and I went flying back into the wall behind me. Right, Sekirei all have superhuman strength. Still, on the up side, now that she wasn't under whatever trance her Winging had put her in, the swarm had vanished, leaving Lung whimpering in a pool of his own blood and looking very worse for wear.

"Y-y-you…" stuttered Taylor, still bright red and pointing at me, "W-what did you do to me?! A-are you a M-master? H-how do you k-know my n-name?! O-oh g-god, t-that was m-my…"

She let out a high pitched whine and sank to the ground, steam billowing from her head she was blushing so hard. Literally. Did this world work on Anime logic or something?

I hesitated a little, not entirely sure what to say. What could I say? It was rather obvious that she had no idea what was going on and, to be fair, neither did I. Was she actually a Sekirei or did I have some extremely weird Master/Trump power that allowed me to turn anyone I kissed into a Sekirei? Not impossible, but a tad unlikely. That said, how the hell was I supposed to convince Taylor of that? I mean, from her point of view it made sense. I appear out of nowhere and save her neck and the next thing she knows shes burning up and full of a desire to kiss me? It certainly sounds like some Heartbreaker shit. God I wish there was someone around who could help with this…

"Well, I wasn't expecting to find this on patrol tonight."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the voice and spun around to see a figure clad in black stood over Lung, poking him with a toe.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The person looked up, revealing a slightly unkempt looking Japanese man with brown hair in jeans, a white vest and a jacket with fur around the collar.

"Hnn, I'm just a curious bystander," said the man, "I have to say, I'm impressed. Not many Sekirei are strong enough to go toe to toe with someone like Lung so soon after being Winged."

I blinked, suppressing the urge to gape instead. Welp, there goes the idea that I was some kind of Trump.

"Sekirei?" I asked, "Whats…"

"Hey Seo, you know we're being watched, right?" shouted someone from the roof.

I jumped and looked up to see two identical girls with black hair in what looked like S&M outfits were stood, apparently keeping watch.

"Aww, don't worry about it," said Seo, "Their not close enough to hear us. Besides, someone needs to fill these two in."

Huh...I thought he looked familiar. Oh god, I really hope I wasn't about to find out I was part of the Sekirei Plan or something. That...would not end well.

Seo left Lung alone and approached, his gaze slipping from me to Taylor. At the sight of her, Seo paused, his eyes widening slightly.

"Wait...Taylor, is that you?" he asked.

Taylor looked up, her visible eye widening slightly.

"M-mr Kaoru? W-what are you doing here?" she stuttered.

Seo's expression shifted into a thoughtful one.

"Well...this makes things...awkward," he said, "Does your Dad know your out here?"

Taylor swallowed and shook her head. Her eyes darted to me, before she went red again and hid her face.

"I see," said Seo, "Well, I won't tell Danny you picked a fight with Lung, although he will find out you've been sneaking out."

He sighed.

"Anyway, I need you two to come with me," he said.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Can I ask why?" I asked.

Despite his looks, attitude and the presence of the Lightning Twins, I wasn't willing to risk going with someone who, for all I knew, could work for Coil or something. Seo smiled slightly.

"Because I'm terrible at explaining things and you two need someone to fill you in on your...relationship," he said, "Plus, judging from Taylor's costume, she'll need some new clothes."

I hesitated for a moment, before sighing. Its not like I could do much else, was it? I had nowhere to go. I turned to Taylor, who was looking between the two of us with an unreadable expression.

"Well, I could do with some answers," I said, "What do you say?"

I offered my hand to the apparent Sekirei. Taylor eyed it for a moment, before she hesitantly took it and let me pull her to her feet. She quickly took a couple of steps away, but kept stealing glances at me as we followed Seo and his Sekirei through the docks and her cheeks remained pink the entire time.

* * *

It didn't take long to arrive at our apparent destination, located in the north of the Docks close to the Boardwalk and stood out due to being a Japanese style two floored house. There was a sign on the fence outside which, as you can probably imagine, proclaimed it to be the Izumo Inn. It took all I had not to facepalm.

Seo led the way up to the door and knocked.

"Um, shouldn't we come back tomorrow?" asked Taylor.

"Nah, Miya won't mind," said Seo.

At that moment, the door opened to reveal the woman in question in a sleeping Yukata and a murderous look as she brandished a ladal.

"Do you have any idea what time it is Seo?!" she snarled, although thankfully the Demon Mask didn't make an appearance, "This had better be good!"

Seo grinned as if he wasn't being menaced by a giant spoon.

"You could say that," he said, "A new birds gained her wings."

Miya blinked, before her eyes shifted from Seo to me and Taylor, who had shifted closer to me apparently without noticing. She glanced between us, before sighing and lowering her makeshift weapon. Not that I didn't think for a moment she couldn't beat every Cape in the city with it if it came to that.

"Alright, come in," she said, stepping aside and letting us enter the building.

* * *

Ten minutes later, we were sat around the table in the dining room with hot cups of tea in front of us and Miya (who had introduced herself as Miya Asama), now dressed in her traditional outfit from the Anime, across from us. She'd also taken one look at Taylors tattered costume, tutted and dragged the girl with her to change, leading to the blushing bug user being sat beside me and looking adorable in a butterfly patterned Yukata. Why? No idea, but I'm not arguing with the scariest woman in the city.

"First things first," said Miya after taking a sip of tea, "My name is Miya Asama, the landlady of this Inn, among...other things."

"Taylor Hebert," muttered Taylor.

"Lucas Smith," I said.

"Excellent," said Miya, "Now, onto the explanations. I assume that you know that your adopted Taylor?"

Taylor looked up in surprise, but nodded.

"I...yes, but how did you know that?" she asked.

"Because your a Sekirei," said Miya, "Let me tell you a story…"

Taylor and I listened, more than a little wide eyed, as Miya filled us both in on the past of the Sekirei here on Earth Bet. Apparently, Minaka never found the Ship, but instead something else had resulted in the ship waking Miya much earlier up instead. Due to the reasons she neglected to go into, she had decided to move the Iwafune ship containing her Flock to America before releasing the Sekirei inside. While the first Nine were born with their powers intact to act as protectors to the rest, the other 99 were modified by Miya so that they were born as Human with their powers sealed until they found their Ashikabi. Then, they were each left at orphanages around the US and Canada where, being naturally adorable children, they were almost universally snapped up for adoption. After that, the Single Digits mostly went their separate ways to find their own Ashikabi and to keep an eye out for the other Baby Birds for when they spread their wings.

* * *

Once she was done, Taylor and I sat in silence for a moment, before a question came to me.

"Wait, but if her powers were sealed, how come Taylor was out as a Cape tonight?" I asked.

"The seal was designed in such a way so it would loosen slightly in the event of a potentially life threatening situation," said Miya, "As a result, its possible for a sealed Sekirei to access a small portion of their full potential in a dire situation."

"So basically, while Sekirei can't Trigger like a Human can, they can go through something similar," said Seo, "Other than Taylor, there are two other unWinged Sekirei in the city who have access to their powers."

"Considering the state of the world, that seems smart," I said.

"Indeed," said Miya, before she glanced at the clock, "I think that will do for now. You know the basics and its late."

Taylor followed her gaze and paled.

"O-oh god, is that the time?" she gasped, "I should go…"

"Nowhere young lady," said Miya, "Powers or not, it is far too late to go gallivanting around the city. Don't worry, I'll let your Father know your here."

"Wait, you know my Dad?" asked Taylor, looking rather surprised.

"Lets just say that your Mother and I used to work together," said Miya with a slightly sad smile, "Besides, you two really need to have a talk."

Taylor shot a glance at me, blushed again and looking away again. That was going to get old quickly. Miya got to her feet and indicated for us to follow her. She led the way upstairs and stopped in front of a room.

"Unfortunately, this is the only room I currently have available," she said, "However, I suspect that you'll want to talk before you turn in. However…"

She turned and smiled at us, making the two of us recoil as a purple aura appeared around her.

"I will not accept any hanky panky under my roof," she said sweetly, "Am I understood?"

The Oni Mask appeared behind her and I swear I heard something chanting in backwards latin.

"G-got it!" I yelped, to scared out of my wits to be embarrassed at the implication.

The aura and mask vanished as Miya's smile became slightly less demonic and more motherly housewife without changing in the slightest.

"Good, in that case, sleep well," she said and headed off downstairs.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Holy fuck, that was scary," I said.

"I guess…" muttered Taylor, although she was as pale as me.

She shot a look at me, blushed again and looked away. I sighed and opened the door, noting that it was a rather nicely furnished room, set up for two people to live comfortably. I glanced around the room, before taking Taylors hand (ignoring her increased blush and yelp of surprise) and dragging her into the room. I shoved her down onto the window seat and grabbed one of the desk chairs before sitting down in front of her.

"Right, we need to talk," I said as Taylor played with the belt of her robe and refused to meet my eyes.

"About what?" she muttered.

I let out a low growl. This was going to be a MASSIVE pain in the rear.

"About the whole Ashikabi and Sekirei thing," I said.

"What about it?" asked Taylor.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"Damn it Taylor, now is not the time for being obtuse!" I said, "You heard what Miya said downstairs! Whether we like it or not, the two of us are bound together."

Taylor scowled.  
"I know what she said, but its a little hard to believe," she snapped, "I mean, an Alien? Really? For all I know, you could be some creepy Master like Heartbreaker!"

"If that was the case, why would I bother with this?" I asked, "I mean, if I was Heartbreaker 2.0, you'd already be so drugged up on my power, you wouldn't be questioning anything! And why such an unbelievable story? If I, or anyone else for that matter, wanted to convince you of something, a believable story is much more likely to work."

"Yeah, but that could be exactly why the story is so unbelievable," said Taylor.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I was right, this is a pain.

"What about Seo?" I asked, "I gather that you know him?"

Taylor huffed and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, he works with my Dad," she said, "What about him?"

I mentally filed that tidbit away. It'd be interesting to find out just what type of group the DWA is in this world at some point, but for now I'd leave it be.

"He seems to be aware of all this and I'm pretty sure that those twins of his are Sekirei as well," I said, "Can you think of any reason why he'd let anything bad happen to you if he really is friends with your Dad?"

"You could have Mastered him to," muttered Taylor, although I could tell her heart wasn't really in it.

I sighed.

"Do you actually believe that?" I asked.

Taylor was silent for a moment, staring down at her hands, before she took a deep breath and met my eyes.

"No, I don't," she said, "I don't know how, but I feel like I know you."

She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow.

"Its weird, I don't know your name, but I trust you completely. I...I think I can even feel your emotions. Worry...exasperation...fear?"

She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Why are you scared?" she asked.

I shifted slightly as I felt the extremely strange sensation of Taylors emotions seeping across the bond, made all the more odd by the fact that she herself was confused about the emotions she was feeling. Sekirei are creatures of emotion, especially when it comes to their Ashikabi, and its very clear that it takes hardly any time at all for them to become attached, or even fall in love, with said Ashikabi, especially if they react and bond willingly with them. Taylor was apparently no different and, considering that Heartbreaker was a thing, its obvious why it was playing merry hell with her emotions.

Said emotions were a mix of attraction, worry about the aforementioned fear I was feeling left over from finding myself in Worm, and her own fear over possibly being Mastered and the sense she now had of my emotions. Fuck me, this is confusing.

I groaned and lent forwards, resting my head in my hands. How in the actual hell was I supposed to approach this? This wasn't a Taylor who fell for me after I save her neck, or simply became friends with me because of the aforementioned neck saving, she was irreversibly bound to me. Considering I still hadn't got my head around the fact I was in some weird combination of Worm and Sekirei, I wasn't exactly in the best place myself. Could I really get away with telling Taylor that just hours ago I was in a world where she was a fictional character?

On one hand, I don't think telling her that she 'should' have ended up becoming a Villain and was basically single handedly responsible for saving the world was a good idea, on the other, even if I had not appeared, its doubtful that she would have done that in this world. Even if she hadn't met me, she would have found another person to be her Ashikabi at some point.

A pair of warm hands taking mine made me look up in surprise. Taylor had slipped off her seat and was now kneeling in front of me, looking up at my face with worry clear in her eyes.

"Please Lucas, talk to me," she said, "I...I don't know if I really believe all this Sekirei stuff, but seeing you like this hurts. You said it yourself, we need to talk to each other, so talk."

I stared into the girls eyes for a moment, before I sighed. Fuck it, I needed to talk to someone about this anyway, might as well be my Sekirei.

"Alright, but you might find it hard to believe," I said.

 **CLIFFHANGER HOOOOO! Eh, I got another chapter of this to come, so whatever.**

 **I...probably didn't really need to do an insert for this, but whatever. I like the idea. Incidentally, Lucas has Triggered, he just hasn't noticed it and won't until he meets Armsy or Kid Win. Why? Well, thats because his power is a Trump type of a very specific style. Take a guess as to what it is and what that means for a certain agoraphobic Hero.**

 **Lucas might seem to be a jumping the gun a bit when it comes to telling Taylor about being transplanted from another world, but as he mentioned, the very nature of the changes makes it VERY unlikely that the events of Canon Worm would actually go down and if anyone would believe him, its the person with a direct connection with his emotions.**

 **Speaking of which, I have two other characters who I've turned into Sekirei who will end up Winging themselves to Lucas. You might be able to guess one, but the other is a tad unlikely. I also plan to Wing a Single Digit to him, but I'm not sure who to use. Other than Matsu and Mutsu (cus hes a dick and I have plans for him) I'm open to suggestions on that front.**

 **Before we go, a quick Omake based on an idea I had that I won't use but was to funny not to type out.**

* * *

 **OMAKE: Mouse Eared Crow**

There were several things I was expecting when Miya informed me that Number 4 was coming by for dinner. The first thought was that we'd be lucky if the city was still standing by the end of it, but I quickly discarded it when I realized that Miya wouldn't have invited Karasuba if the two of them were prone to fighting. The second was that this was likely going to be a scary meal considering that, rivalry with Miya or no, Karasuba would still be fucking scary as hell.

Thats why, when I was called down to dinner by Miya, I was ready to be glanced at and dismissed by the misanthropic Sekirei.

"Alright, lets do this," I muttered as I walked downstairs.

As I reached the bottom, I paused as I spotted something strange hanging from the coat hooks by the door. I blinked and took a closer look. No, that would indeed be a sword and shield, both of which bore a rather familiar looking and very copyright infringing crest on the front in the case of the shield and as the pommel of the sword.

"Something wrong Lucas?" asked Miya as she paused in the hallway with a large tray of cheese.

"Isn't that Mouse Protectors sword and shield?" I asked, pointing at the weapons.

"They are indeed," said Miya, "Now hurry up before it gets cold."

I blinked. Why the hell was Mouse Protector here? I glanced at the weapons one more time, before shrugging and following the Landlady into the dining room. Maybe having the Hammy Hero present would make Karasuba less scary?

I shook it off and decided to get some answers later as I entered the dining room...and immediately froze as I was met with a sight I would never had expected in a million years. Homura, in her female form, trying to keep Mouse Protector at bay as she tried to cop a feel. That was par for the course for Mouse considering she seemed to take great pride in her many, many trips to the PR department for sensitivity training, but what I wasn't expecting was for the Hammy Hero to be without her helmet and very obviously Karasuba, albeit without the bags under her eyes and a massive grin instead of a sardonic smirk. Maybe dinner wouldn't be so bad after all…

* * *

 **Yeahhh, not doing that. I like the idea of Karasuba slaughtering her way through S-class threats way to much to reduce her to a gag character. I might have Mouse show up later though. I also have an idea involving her somehow getting Winged to Danny, but that ideas more of a possibility than anything.**

 **Anyway, this is now done, so I'm going to sign out. Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **EDIT: Fixed a minor timeline issue that meant that the oldest Sekirei couldn't be more than 16.**


	2. Chapter 2

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **Here we go for another entry in this idea. Nothing to say, other than enjoy!**

Chapter 2

"I've heard a lot of unbelievable things tonight," said Taylor.

I snorted.

"True enough I suppose," I said, "Alright, lets start with this. I have no idea how I ended up in Brockton Bay. One minute I was going to bed in Britain, the next I found myself waking up in an alleyway in a city that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist back home."

Taylor frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

I sighed and rubbed my head. I was extremely tired by this point and not exactly feeling well after all the stress of the night so far.

"While I will admit that I'm not the best at American Geography, I know for a fact that Brockton Bay does not exist back home," I said, "I didn't just get teleported across the Atlantic, I'm not even on the same version of Earth as I was when I went to bed."

"So what, your from Aleph?" asked Taylor.

I shook my head.

"No, that would make a certain amount of sense considering that Bet has an active connection with it," I said, "I know for a fact that Bet doesn't have a connection with my world. Not directly at least."

Taylor scowled and stood up, glaring down at me as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave me that Look all women seem to develop at some point to use on men they think are being idiots.

"Lucas, stop stalling and just tell me whats got you so worked up," she said, "I can tell your keeping something back, so spill!"

I stared up at her for a moment, before I sighed again, sat up straight and, met her eyes.

"Fine," I said, "In my world, you, Lung and Brockton Bay are all entirely fictional."

It was apparent that Taylor wasn't expecting that. Her eyes went wide and she took a step back.

"W-what?" she gasped.

"Earth Bet is the setting of a Superhero web novel written by a guy called Wildbow," I said, "Its pretty good, insanely popular and dark enough that Batman would fit right in. It serves as a deconstruction of the superhero genre...in the same way that a sledgehammer deconstructs a box of puppies. I don't think theres a single happy ending for ANYONE, despite the fact that the hero manages to save every version of Earth from being destroyed. Mainly because the effort costs her everything, from her Humanity to her life from a 9mm lobotomy from a walking Deus Ex Machina."

Taylor was a rather unhealthy shade of gray by this point as she dropped back onto the window seat.

"So your saying I don't exist?" she asked weakly.

I frowned and shook my head.

"No, not at all," I said, "I don't really have the energy to go into the physics, philosophy and theories behind it all, but the fact your a fictional character in one reality is a practical guarantee considering that there is literally an infinite number of possible realities. For every infinite number of realities where you serve as the protagonist of a story, there are an equil infinite number where your just...you."

Taylor's head snapped up.

"Wait, protagonist?" she asked.

" _Whoops,"_ I thought.

I hadnt meant to tell her that she was the main character of Worm just yet. Oh well.

"Yes, you serve as the main protagonist of the web novel," I said.

If anything, Taylor looked more surprised by that than the revelation that she was technically an alien.

"But...why me?" she asked, "I mean, I'm nothing special…"

I blinked, then burst out laughing.

"HEY, whats so funny?" demanded Taylor, "I mean, I know I'm a Sekirei, but my powers just bug control! How can that power save the world and beat something capable of destroying planets?"

"Taylor, with the power to control bugs, you almost single handedly beat Lung fought Leviathan in one on one combat, took over the City with your friends and became one of the most feared Warlords around and even helped destroy the Slaughterhouse Nine. Fuck, you _killed Alexandria!"_

Taylor paled again.

"W-why would I kill her?!" she spluttered, "Shes a hero!"

"That doesnt mean shes a good person," I said, "Shes actually quite the bitch and was threatening to hunt down and kill your friends one by one, on top of having a body bag they told you already had one in. It turned out she was lying, but you snapped and ended up suffocating her with a swarm of bugs. All around very nasty."

"Why would she do that?" asked Taylor in a very small voice.

"You were a Villain at the time," I said, "Your intention had been to infiltrate the Undersiders and turn them over to the authorities, but after becoming very close to them and the Heroes being generally shitty to you, you ended up going native. Plus, the Undersiders are good kids in a bad situation...mostly."

I shook my head.

"Anyway, all of thats irrelevant because it'll never happen."

"What, because your here?" muttered Taylor.

"No, because your a Sekirei," I said.

"Huh?"

I grinned.

"This world could never go the same way as the 'Prime' Worm world for want of a better word," I said, "See, Sekirei weren't a part of that world. They were part of a completely different one, one that was much, much lighter...mainly because it was a love story with big boobed girls fighting it out in the name of True Love. True, it had its dark moments and its fair share of tragedies, but nothing like Worm. Plus, the fact that this world is a bizarre crossover is good for both worlds since I highly doubt that the Single Digits would allow many of the events to happen as they did in Canon and the fact that Minaka never found the Ship means that the Sekirei don't have to fight it out and kill each other for his sick entertainment."

Taylor stared at me, agast.

"Thats horrible!" she said.

"That it is," I said, "But like I said, its irrelevant. There is likely a version of Earth out there where its happening, but there's nothing we can do about that. All we can do is live life as best we can. What knowledge I have about this world is likely useless, but I'll use whatever I can to improve our chances."

Taylor blinked.

"Our chances?" she asked.

"Of course," I said, "I'm your Ashikabi. I might not have any powers, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let you fight without me."

Taylors cheeks pinked slightly as she smiled softly.

"Thats not as cool as you think you know," she said, "But...thanks. Its been...way too long since anyones been there for me…"

I smiled.

"I strongly suspect that you won't be alone for much longer," I said, "If I know anything about Sekirei, you're sure to make plenty of friends…"

I trailed off with a jaw cracking yawn.

"But thats for later," I said, getting to my feet, "For now, we should get some sleep."

Taylor just yawned in agreement.

* * *

Two minutes later, I was changed into the PJ's provided by Miya and curled up under the warm covers. I still needed to do some hard thinking about...everything, but I was so tired that I simply went straight to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by the sun landing on my face. I groaned and shifted, trying to get rid of the hellish light and cursing myself for forgetting to shut the curtains last night. I buried my face in the warm pillow I was holding in an attempt to get away from the light...only to freeze as the pillow let out a soft moan and hugged me back.

My eyes snapped open and I was immediately treated to the sight of a pair of modestly sized breasts that were barely hidden by the sleeping yukata my bedmate was wearing since it had apparently slipped open in the night, revealing the top portion of said breasts and a stretch of pure white shoulder, as well as a glimpse of the crimson crest between her shoulders.

I stared at the girl in my bed for a moment, before the events of the previous day came back. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"So it wasn't a dream," I muttered, "Great…"

I opened my eyes again and sat up, looking down at Taylor as she shifted slightly in her sleep. It was hard to believe that the innocent looking girl curled up beside me could ever become a god-like Monster like Khepri. Then again, she didn't, did she? Not in this reality, doubly so if I had anything to say about it.

I smiled softly as I felt a surge of protectiveness. Even knowing what Sekirei are capable of, compared with just how strong Taylor could be, I still found myself wanting to keep her safe. Good god, the Ashikabi bond works quick. Then again, Sekirei and Ashikabi are destined partners, so maybe that has something to do with it? Maybe, or maybe it was a much nicer version of the Parahuman conflict drive. Either way, I could deal with it.

I was drawn from my thoughts as Taylor shifted again under my hand, letting out a soft moan. I looked down and frowned when I saw the expression on her face and the way she was shifting. Whatever she was dreaming couldn't be pleasant. I reached out and started running my fingers through Taylors hair, making her mou quietly and lean into my touch, her tense face relaxing into something more peaceful. A moment later, it shifted again as Taylor stured and slowly opened her eyes. I tensed slightly as her eyes met mine, half expecting to end up getting shoved out of bed. Instead, Taylors eyes teared up and she hugged me tightly.

"I thought you were a dream," she mumbled into my chest.

I quickly shrugged off my surprise and hugged her back, running my hand through her hair as she cried into my chest.

"Please don't leave me," whispered Taylor.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said, "Your my Sekirei, we're in this together till the end."

Taylor looked up at me with gratitude clear in her eyes, before she lent up and kissed me. I ignored the flash of light as her Wings appeared as I kissed her back, wrapping my arms around her to draw her closer as the kiss deepened…

BANG!

"I thought I told you that hanky panky was forbidden within Izumo Inn!" said Miya as we jumped apart as if burnt.

"W-we weren't doing anything!" said Taylor, her face burning crimson.

"Hmm, I'm sure," said Miya, "Well, I suppose I'll overlook it this time. Come downstairs. Breakfast is ready."

She shut the door, leaving us alone. Taylor climbed out of bed, fixing her robe with her back to me, although I could clearly see she was still blushing brightly.

"Taylor," I said, making my Sekirei glance back at me, "I meant it you know. No matter what happens, I won't ever leave you alone."

Taylor smiled.

"I know," she said.

* * *

Two minutes later, we headed downstairs to find Miya setting a table where two very familiar faces were sat, along with two unexpected ones. The expected ones were Homura and Uzume (or whatever their names were here) and the unexpected was were a slightly morose looking Matsu and a striking middle-eastern girl who was shifting slightly in her seat next to Uzume in a way that suggested she wasn't entirely comfortable. Considering that her cheeks were flushed and Uzume looked rather smug, it wasn't hard to guess why she was apparently so sore.

"Oh hey, your the new kids, right?" asked Uzume with a friendly smile, "I'm Uzume and this is Sabah."

"Hello," said the young woman with a friendly smile.

Well, thats...actually not all that surprising. The Veiled Sekirei and the Tailor Rogue make a rather scary combination.

"Nice to meet you both," I said, "I'm Lucas and this is Taylor."

"Ah, the newly Winged Sekirei and her Ashikabi, right?" asked Uzume, eyeing me up and down, "Hmm, not bad I guess. Still, your rather unimpressive…"

SMACK!

"Uzume, don't be rude," said Sabah as she reopened the textbook she'd just used to smack Uzume with.

"Heh, sorry," said the Veiled Sekirei.

"Ignore her, thats what we all do," said Homura, ignoring the squeak of protest from Uzume, "I'm Kagari and shes Theresa."

"Call me Tess," muttered the Matsu look-a-like.

"Um, are you OK?" asked Taylor, "You look...down."

She was right. Considering what she was like in the Anime (assuming she was Number 2, but I had no reason to think otherwise), the expression on her face looked wrong.

"Shes fine," said Uzume, slinging an arm over the down Sekirei's shoulders, "Shes just bummed that her Ashikabi's been out all night."

"Oh, like you wouldn't be the same if Sabah wasn't here to scratch your itch," snapped Tessm shrugging off Uzume's arm.

"No fighting at the table ladies," said Miya as she entered the room with a tray of jugs of juice and followed by a small girl with curly blonde hair and blue eyes who was carrying a jug of milk, "Thank you for the help Riley."

"No problem Mama," said the little girl as she set the jug on the table and clambered into a chair beside Kagari.

I stared at her, not entirely sure if I wanted to know if she was actually Bonesaw or not. Hell, for all I knew, she could be a Sekirei as well or, in a rather terrifying twist, Miya's actual daughter.

"Shes Miya's adopted kid," whispered Uzume in my ear, "I don't know the details, but Miya apparently saved her after a gang of Villains murdered her family."

"I...see," I said.

Well, that was a weight of my mind I suppose.

"Shes also an Ashikabi, but her Sekirei works for the Guild, so isn't here right now," she continued.

"A kid that young is an Ashikabi?" asked Taylor.

"Age doesn't mean much," said Uzume, "Shiina's more of a Big Brother than lover, but their still adorable together. Its a shame he was needed to finish mopping up Blasto's latest blunder really."

I blinked. Riley's Sekirei was Shiina? That...was a scary thought. Hopefully she didn't Trigger or the combination of Biotinker and Death Sekirei would be horrific to counter. The only one worse would be Bonesaw and 108. Or Karasuba. I shuddered at the thought.

Fortunately, the images of the chaos and slaughter that would come from Karasuba being a part of the Nine was dismissed as the sound of a car pulling up outside filtered in through the window. Tess immediately perked up and jumped to her feet, almost running out of the room as the front door opened. A moment later, there was a yelp of surprise, followed by a flash of yellow light as Tess' Wings lit up the hallway. A few moments later, the door opened and Tess rentered, now with pink cheeks and practically moulded to the side of a tall man in his late 20s with dark brown hair and a neatly kept beard that I found myself envying. Damn, I can't wait until mine grows back in…

"Welcome back Colin," said Miya, "How was work?"

Colin grunted as he took a seat and accepted the cup of coffee Uzume handed him.

"Tiring," he said, "Someone took down Lung, nearly killed him actually. I won't complain about that monster being of the street, but another loose cannon is NOT good for the Directors blood pressure or my paperwork situation."

It was at that point that I suddenly realized exactly who the man was and I nearly choked on my weetabix. Holy fucking shit, Matsu's analogue was Dragon and her Ashikabi was Armsmaster! That...actually makes a fair amount of sense. Does this mean that Armsmasters less of a dick?

It was at that point that Colin noticed us and raised an eyebrow.

"New resident?" he asked.

"Ehhh, sort of," I said, "I'm Lucas, a new Ashikabi and this is Taylor."

I indicated to my Sekirei, who grunted a greeting through her mouthful of bacon, sausage, egg and tomato sandwich. For some reason, she was really putting away the food.

"As for Lung, I think that I can help with your paperwork situation," I continued.

Colin paused and put down his cup, fixing me with an intense look.

"Oh?"

I winced. This could end badly, but it would be a good way to gauge just what kind of a Colin we were dealing with.

"I met Taylor last night while she was fighting Lung," I said, "I Winged her while trying to keep him from burning us both to a crisp, but when I did she seemed to enter a trance of some kind and did...something. She summoned a swarm of beetles that nearly ate Lung alive before I could snap her out of it."

Taylor looked up, a little startled.

"Wait, I did what?" she asked, "I don't remember that!"

"Thats not too surprising," said Miya, "Its a phenomenon that happens occasionally if the Sekirei is agitated or in danger during the Winging process. They use their Norito to strike back against the aggressor which, depending on what their power is, can be rather messy."

"Norito?" asked Taylor.

"The Norito is basically the strongest power a Sekirei can use," said Tess, "With a kiss from their Ashikabi and a prayer, we can draw out a huge amount of power. Its basically our trump card."

Colin sighed.

"Well, thats both a relief and a massive pain in the ass," he grumbled, "On one hand, we don't need to worry about another loose cannon like Shadow Stalker, on the other, I can't put anything about Sekirei in my report…"

He sighed again.

"I'll think on this later. For now, I need to get some sleep. I've been going for nearly 72 hours by this point, so I'm about to crash. Goodnight all."

"Goodnight," said everyone as he and Tess left the room.

* * *

The rest of breakfast went by without any more surprise revelations popping up and once everyone was done eating, they went their own ways. Uzume and Sabah headed out, probably to Parians shop, Kagari left for his own job while Riley left to go watch TV, leaving Taylor and I with Miya.

"So, I understand that your a little lost Lucas," said Miya quite out of the blue.

I stared at her, wide eyed.

"How the hell do you know that?" I asked.

"Lets just say that the rubber ducky tells many secrets," said Miya, indicating to said plastic bath toy on the sideboard.

"You bugged us?" asked Taylor, looking a little put out.

"It was a precaution," said Miya, "I won't turn anyone away, especially not a new Sekirei and Ashikabi, but that doesn't mean I trust them right off the bat. Besides, I had to make sure you weren't doing anything immodest."

"And yet Uzume and Sabah clearly got up to something kinky," I muttered.

"True, but they are both adults," said Miya with a smile.

"I...honestly can't think of an argument for that," I grumbled.

"Indeed," said Miya, "Now, since you are apparently a traveler from a VERY different land, I am willing to offer you a place to stay here."

"I don't have any money," I said.

"True, but you are an Ashikabi for one of my Birds," said Miya, "Besides, I'm sure we can find something for you to do to pay me back and Tess can make sure you actually have an identity."

"I...thank you Miya," I said, more than a little taken aback by the kind gesture.

"My Husband would have done the same had he still been here," said Miya softly, "He was always helping people…"

"I'm...sorry for your loss," said Taylor.

Miya smiled a little sadly.

"It was a long time ago now," she said, "I still miss him, but I prefer to honour his memory than let his loss keep me locked in place. Besides..."

Her smile faded and her eyes seemed to darken. Both Taylor and I went rigid every single one of the base instincts we had started screaming at us. This wasn't Miya's Demon Mask, this was Miya as the leader of the Discipline Squad, the one who would tear apart anything that threatened those under her protection without a second thought

"I made sure that the monster responsible for his death felt every iota of pain he brought upon me and others when I tracked him down."

Her voice was as flat and cold as the steel of her sword and, for a brief moment, I understood just how powerful Number 1 really was, even without seeing her in battle. Then, in the blink of an eye, Miya the Housewife was back and looking a little abashed.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you," she said.

"I-its fine," squeaked Taylor.

Miya smiled softly and glanced at the clock.

"I believe that your Father will be here soon Taylor," she said, "I suggest that the two of you get washed and dressed. I'll bring up some clothes and toiletries for you in a moment."

We both hastily agreed and headed upstairs.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we were washed and dressed, me in some sweats that had apparently once belonged to Miya's husband and Taylor in some of Sabah's old clothes the Rogue had apparently donated for Taylor to use, and sat in the sitting room and waiting for Danny to arrive. We hadn't been waiting long when the sound of a car pulling up came from outside. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Seo and a tall, bespectacled man who could only be Danny Hebert entered the room.

"Dad!"

Taylor jumped up and hugged a surprised looking Danny, who nonetheless hugged her back.

"Where have you been Taylor?" he asked, "Do you know how worried I was when I found your bed empty this morning? And why did I have to find out from Seo that you have powers?"

"I know Dad, I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled by her Fathers chest, "I just...I didn't want to worry you."

Danny smiled softly as he rubbed his Daughters back.

"Silly girl, I'll always worry about you," he said, "But we can talk about you sneaking out later. For now, I think we have another important discussion to have."

He looked up and met my eyes. I gulped. He wasn't well built, but he was taller than me and had a lot of steel in his gaze for a man who spent the last few years lost in depression. Guess finding out Taylor was a Cape snapped him out of it.

"So I take it that your my Daughters Ashikabi?" he asked.

I blinked. Wait, what?

 **And this is where I'll end it. This was...refreshingly easy to write. Fun to. I might need to have a break from Devils Advocate… Anyway, on to some quips.**

 **I hope I did a good job with the talk they had. I'm, not entirely happy with it, but it does the job and gets across all the points I wanted to do.**

 **MIYA INTERRUPT! Heh, Miya's fun to write when shes in full on Big Sister mode. Not Mother. I don't fancy getting hit with a Demon Mask.**

 **So, the other residence of Mason Izumo are introduced and there are a few surprises. I think it goes without saying, but the Nine is nowhere near as much of a threat in this world. Jacks still around, cockroach that he is, but he doesn't have anywhere near as much power as is in canon and is only still alive because Karasuba likes toying with him. The others are either dead or saved.**

 **On a related note, guess who Miya's husband was in this world and who it was who she killed for being responsible for his death.**

 **I admit, I was rather tempted to have Riley be Karasuba's Ashikabi or adopted Daughter, with Miya as her Aunt, but I eventually settled on this. Shiina will be back soon enough.**

 **I'm surprised that no one picked up on the fact I planned to have Matsu take Dragons place. To be clear, Richter did exist, but he never Triggered. He is still dead by Leviathan and Tess' Father figure, but no AI means no Ascalon and no Dragonslayers. It also means that Armsmasters not quite as much of a dick, if only because he got laid.**

 **I had the joke of Miya only forbidding lewd activities between Taylor and Lucas because of their age from the start. Everyone else is free to do what they want, so long as they keep it to their rooms and use the Tess provided soundproofing devices to make sure that Riley is not corrupted.**

 **Incidentally, in addition to the already seen Sekirei/Ashikabi pares, there are an additional two who work for the Protectorate and at least two Unwinged Sekirei walking around Brockton. I wonder if you can guess who the Proctorates pairs are? Probably not.**

 **Hmm, I wonder how Danny knows about Ashikabi and Sekirei? Heheh.**

 **And with this done, I'm signing out. Until next time, don't forget to leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **Here we go for another entry in this idea. I know, I really shouldn't be starting something new, but writing Devils Advocate is almost physically painful for me right now! I need a break, so I decided to do some more with this idea since I had so much fun writing it. Anyway, with that out of the way, lets get started. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat under Danny's glare, trying desperately to figure out if I should meet his eyes or not. It certainly didn't help that I was facing him alone, Taylor having been dragged off by Miya and Matsu to receive a quick and dirty lesson in the basics of being a Sekirei. It was rather smart considering that all Sekirei were stronger than Humans, even the physically weak Brain Types, so making sure that Taylor was aware of said strength was rather important so she didn't accidentally break someone in half. Doubly so for when she'd have to head back to school, although I strongly suspected that getting Sophia slapped with a great big helping of comeuppance would be a lot easier with both Dragon and Armsmaster present, if only because I got the distinct impression that all Single Digits were extremely protective of the other Sekirei.

However, that was for later. For now, I had to deal with Danny and his judging glare.

After a few minutes of silent glaring, Danny finally broke the silence and sat back with a sigh.

"I knew this would happen eventually," he said, "It was inevitable that Taylor would React to someone eventually."

"You knew she was a Sekirei?" I asked.

Danny smiled a little sadly.

"Yes, I did," he said, "Kinda hard not to when my Wife's a Sekirei herself."

I blinked.  
"Wait, really?" I asked.

How the actual fuck did a Sekirei get killed in something as minor as a car crash? Then again, it wasn't impossible that something else happened to her. Danny nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, I kinda wish she was here now," he said, "She should be the one to tell Taylor everything she needs to know."

He sighed.

"Still, she'll have some time off soon, especially now Taylors found her Ashikabi."

Wait, what?

"She works for the Guild, so shes not around as much as I'd like," said Danny, apparently catching my expression and completely misinterpreting it, "Still, shes doing what she loves, so I could never ask her to give it up."

"I...see," I said, "So your an Ashikabi too?"

"Yeah, but my Sekireis strong enough that she doesn't need me around," said Danny, "I used to go with her, but I'm not as young as I used to be."

His gaze sharpened and I stiffened as he fixed me with another glare.

"Thats why I'm not going to give you the whole 'hurt her and your dead' shtick other fathers give their daughters Boyfriends," he said, "It wouldn't do any good anyway considering that you wouldn't have been able to Wing her if you weren't her Ashikabi. Still, you'd better do everything in your power to make sure that shes happy and safe. I'm not dumb enough to think that she won't go out and use her powers, shes too much like her Mother not to, but if she gets hurt…"

"She won't," I said, "I'm not sure how much I can do, but I will still do everything in my power to keep her from harm."

I snorted.

"Besides, if anything does happen, it'll be Miya who takes my head off and, no offence, I'm a lot more scared of her than you."

Danny burst out laughing at that.

"I honestly don't blame you for that kid," he said, "Shes mellowed out some since she adopted Riley, but shes still scary enough to keep Lung out of the area. Mainly because the last time he tried to intimidate her into his gang, she kicked his ass with a rolling pin and a soup ladle."

I burst out laughing at the image of a man like Lung getting his ass kicked in such a way. The laughter served to break the ice and, with the threats out of the way, we settled into an easy conversation. I quickly found that Danny was a remarkably observant man with a quick with and a sense of humour that reminded me greatly of my own Father. I could easily see myself getting on with him in the future.

Unfortunately, the thought also soured my mood as it brought to light the fact that I'd likely never see my family again. I'd often thought that the whole idea of those who were plucked from their own world by ROB's for whatever reason returning home was a terrible idea. Why? Well, unless the world was completely peaceful or their time in the other world incredibly short (which would make the insert pointless), the result would be a person apparently changing overnight, or returning from a protracted and unexplained absence with crazy stories. That was just cruel, not to mention the fact that the insert would inevitably have made friends or even had a family while in the other world.

Combine that with the fact I had no idea how I got here or why and I'd have to make peace with the fact that I was stuck.

"Are you alright?" asked Danny, catching the shift in my expression.

"Yeah, its just…"

I sighed as I lent my forehead on my clasped hands and tried to keep from crying.

"My family are...gone," I said softly, "Hell, if I hadn't met Taylor, I'd probably still be out on the street. I...don't have anything but the clothes on my back."

Despite myself, I felt my eyes begin to become wet as my throat teared up. I wasn't the type to really show that much emotion normally and I didn't particularly want to start bawling in front of a basic stranger.

A moment later, the chair I was sat on dipped slightly and a pair of arms wrapped around me. I looked up in surprise to see Taylor holding me.

"You don't have to hold it back," she said softly.

That did it. I'm honestly not afraid to admit that I cried like a baby as Taylor held me close, saying nothing but offering me simple comfort as I cried out my loss.

"I can't imagine what its like for you to lose everything like you have," she said once I managed to stop crying, "But even if you can never go home, I'll help you make a home here, if you'll let me."

I smiled weakly as I wiped my eyes. I wasn't completely over it, but I could deal. I'd have to deal. Sekirei crossover or not, this was still Worm and shit would hit the fan sooner or later and I couldn't afford to be anything but my best.

"Thanks Taylor," I said softly as I hugged my Sekirei.

After a few moments, I took a deep breath and stood, rubbing my face on more time to get rid of the remaining tears.

"Right, I'm done crying for now," I said, "Time to get started."

"Started on what?" asked Taylor.

"I don't have any powers, but that doesnt mean I have to be useless," I said, "I'm going to ask Miya to teach me how to fight."

"I'd be happy to," said the Landlady from the door, making both of us jump.

"Um, thank you?" I said, a little taken aback.

"Well, I can't let anything happen to you, can I?" asked Miya as she pulled a training sword out of...somewhere and tossed it to me, "Now come along."

I followed Miya outside...and was immediately wacked over the head with a training sword.

"Oh dear, do you have any experience with fighting at all?" she asked as I rubbed my head and glared at her.

"Not in the slightest," I said, "I was a normal guy before I came here. Everything I know about fighting comes from Anime and fiction. Hell, I don't even think I know how to punch properly."

I clenched my fist and gave a half hearted swing. Miya didn't look impressed.

"I was hoping to have some foundation to start from, but with nothing...this might take a while," she said.

"Look, I'm not asking you to teach me how to be a master or anything," I said, "All I want is to be good enough that I won't get shanked by a random goon."

I scowled and looked down at the wooden sword in my hand.

"Unfortunately, even that might take to long," I muttered, "Damn, I wish I had a way to speed it up...URK!?"

I barely heard the shouts of surprise from Miya and Taylor as I felt a rush of energy surge through my body and focus in the sword in my grip. For a brief moment, the world fell away and a vast web of incomprehensible information extended out before my gaze, before it all seemed to be sucked into the sword, which began to glow brightly. A moment later, the glow faded and I _knew._

"Are you OK Lucas?" asked Taylor, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I said as I lifted the wooden sword to take a closer look.

On the surface, nothing seemed to have changed, but to my vision, a faint aura surrounded it and I knew exactly what it would do. Anyone holding the sword would find themselves able to use and learn how to use it at an accelerated rate. Whats more, I knew that the effect would become stronger the more time passed and the more it was used.

"I-I think I have powers," I said.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Miya, looking surprised.

I ignored her in favour of grabbing one of the padded gloves she'd also brought out for me to use and focused. Once again, it began to glow and a web appeared, although it was different from the preveous one in a way I couldn't fathom. A moment later, I was done, although this time I was out of breath and sweating slightly. Still, I ignored my discomfort as I pulled the glove on and turned to the tree that grew in one corner of the yard.

"Lucas, what are you doing?" asked Taylor.

I ignored her and punched the tree as hard as I could.

CRACK!

With a sound like a gunshot, a small crater was blasted into the bark.

"Oh my!" said Miya, "How did you do that?"

"Gloves that increase my strength," I said with a grin, "I can create enchanted items!"

* * *

The reveal that I apparently had a rather powerful Trump ability meant that training had to be tabled for now as I tried to figure out what I could do. And because I managed to knock myself out after trying to Enchant the other glove of the pair. Apparently I only had a limited supply of energy to use for Enchanting and going over it HURT!

Still, I wasn't out for long and it only took a couple of hours for my energy to recharge enough that we could do some experimentation and Miya convincing a rather grumpy Tess to help certainly helped. With her help, we learnt that my energy reserves took about five hours to fully restore from empty, but I could Enchant items so long as I had some left, especially if I was frugal with my reserves. I could Enchant anything I could touch with a variety of affects, ranging from making an extension cable that produced its own electricity from...somewhere, to turning some pebbles into small explosives (before Miya put a stop to that experiment). However, while I could use a miniscule amount of energy to enchant something, it would be basically useless for a while. Like I mentioned previously, the effects of my Enchantment increased with time and use, but it wasn't exactly fast. I could upgrade already Enchanted objects by dumping more energy into them, but that defeated the point of creating something with tiny amounts of power.

In short, while my power was like Dauntless' on steroids, it was still limited in its own ways. Most notably by the fact that each item I Enchanted could only carry one effect each. However, there was a way around that.

If I Enchanted components of an item and then assembled it, the Enchantments stayed put. I discovered that when I accidentally Enchanted some parts and Tess assembled them to see what happened. The end result was a computer that generated its own power and floated about six inches of the ground...for about ten seconds before it exploded as the explosive Enchantment left over in one of the screws Tess used went off.

Still, it was useful to know and would allow me to make much more useful equipment, starting with a full set of workout gear designed to enhance my ability to learn how to fight and improve my bodies ability to handle the training and get stronger thought it. Training wouldn't do me much good if I permanently injured myself after all.

Needless to say, by the end of the day, I was absolutely knackered. Between all the experiments draining my stamina and the intense training session Miya put me through to test my first proper (and actually useful) creations, my stamina was tapped and my entire body felt like one massive bruise, even with the enhanced healing provided by said gear. Even so, I went to sleep with a massive smile on my face, despite the slight sense of loss that came with the fact that Danny had taken Taylor home with him. Something about wanting to have a good long talk and probably being overly protective, although exactly what he thought we'd get up to with Miya on watch was anyone's guess.

* * *

The feeling of a soft wind tugging at my hair made me open my eyes. It took a moment, but I quickly realized that, instead of the ceiling of my room at Izumo Inn, I was looking up at a crystal blue sky with a few wispy clouds drifting across it. I sat up and looked around. I was in what appeared to be a garden, full of beautifully flowering plants and expertly tended beds that seemed to be set up with little logic or planning, but still managed to be truly breathtaking.

"Am I dreaming?" I muttered, "Huh...well at least its nice here I guess."

I was about to go take a look around when a soft sound made me pause.

"What was…?"

I was cut off by the sound of fluttering wings as a flock of black and white birds took off from the other side of a hedge. I frowned and walked over to see what had spooked them. As I did, the sound I was hearing became clearer. It was a girl crying.

I rounded the hedge and found the source of said crying, a girl with frizzy, light brown hair, dressed in the tattered remains of a white robe and clutching an equally tattered white cape that was splattered by some rather suspicious red stains.

"Hey, why are you crying?" I asked, kneeling down in front of the girl.

She flinched at the sound of my voice and looked up, revealing leaf green eyes that were red from crying.

"W-who are you?" she croaked.

I smiled.

"Lucas," I said, "My name is Lucas. And you are?"

The girl flinched and looked away. I sighed and dropped down to sit beside her, doing my best to ignore the way she shifted away slightly.

"This is a beautiful place," I said, "Is it yours?"

The girl shot a look at me and nodded.

"Yeah, but it won't last," she muttered, "It never does…"

"Hmm? Why not?" I asked.

"Because of her."

I opened my mouth to ask who 'her' was, but before I could, a shadow fell over us. I looked up in shock and stumbled back in horror at the sight of the misshapen mass of flesh that seemed to be made up of a conglomerate of random body parts that looked only vaguely like they came from a Human.

"YoooOOuuu!" hissed the monster in a chorus of voices, "YoooOoUU dId ThIsssSS TooO Me!"

The girl screamed in horror as the monster reached for her, scrabbling to get away. Without thinking, I moved, leaping forwards and dragging the girl out of the way as the monster lashed out with a massive, clawed hand. It shrieked in fury and surged forwards, lashing out again with its many hands. I pulled the girl into my arms and twisted, putting myself between me and the monster, all the while with the thought of 'WHATTHEFUCKAMIDOING?!' running through my mind. I knew it was a dream, but despite that, I couldn't stop the protectiveness I felt towards the girl whos name I didn't even know.

Of course, that seemed like par for the course for me lately and I had to wonder if it was due to something the ROB that dumped me here did, if it had something to do with being an Ashikabi or if it was a character trait I always had that never showed up till now. Something to consider later I guess as the monsters hand slammed into my back with a loud gong, sending the two of us flying. To my suprise, I wasn't hurt, although this was a dream, so that might have something to do with it.

I opened my eyes to see the girl laying underneath me, staring up at me with wide eyes.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Y-you...why did you do that?" she asked, "You could have been killed!"

"Unlikely considering this is a dream, but even so, I'm not really the type to let someone get hurt if I can avoid it."

"B-but you don't even know me," said the girl.

I grinned.

"Since when do you need to know someone to help them?" I asked, "Besides, what kind of man would I be if I let a pretty girl get hurt on my watch?"

Good god, that was corny! I'm glad this is just a dream or I'd never live that line down. Despite the corniness, the girls cheeks went red and she looked away, squirming slightly.

"So uncool," she muttered.

Then, her eyes widened.

"LOOK OUT!" she yelled.

I spun around, just in time to see another clawed hand coming at us and…

* * *

She jolted awake, her heart hammering as she shot upright, panting and sweaty from the nightmare. It was an unfortunately familiar reaction to her after suffering the recurring nightmare that had plagued her for the better part of a year now. She both hated and was thankful for it in equal measure because, as horrific as it was, it served as a reminder as to why she kept her powers on such a short leash. One small mistake and she could well create something as horrific as the monster that hunted her in her nightmares, either physically or just mentally. A tiny moment of weakness and…

She shuddered. No, she knew all too well what she could do if she wasn't careful.

She shook herself off and reached over to open the curtains. The cold, early spring light extended tentative fingers into the room, washing away the lingering darkness of the nightmare and allowing the girl to focus on the less...unpleasant parts, namely the strange boy who had appeared.

It was an extremely odd change considering that she knew that she'd never met him before in her life. It was a shame really, he seemed like the type she could get along with, corny one-liners and all.

"Heh, so uncool," she muttered with a soft smile as her cheeks pinked slightly, "Still, it'd be nice to meet him in person…"

She trailed off, her eyes widening slightly as she felt an oddly familiar feeling rise up in her chest. It was similar to what she felt around her sister (much to her shame), but it was different in some subtle way. Maybe it was because of the lack of forbidden feelings, or maybe it was something else entirely, but the memory of the feeling of his hot breath on her face after he'd saved her made her lips tingle and her body feel hot.

"W-whoa, this feeling…" she muttered, pressing a hand to her chest, "W-why would I…? I don't even know if hes real!"

"Hey Amy, you awake in there?"

The sudden voice and knocking on the door made the girl jump.

"A-ah, yes, I'll be right down!" she called back.

"Well hurry up or we'll be late!"

There was the sound of footsteps retreating, leaving Amy alone again. She let out a breath and did her best to calm down, before grabbing her robe and slippers to head down to breakfast, absently rubbing the area between her shoulder blades as she went. Had she remained a little longer, Amy Dallon might have noticed the slightly limp looking potted plant on her dresser blooming to life.

 **Welp, its a bit short, but thats as good a time as any to end it. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Hooo boy, this has undergone some changes. When I started the initial Vault entries, I had a very differnt vision to what I have now, mainly in the form of Lucas' powers and Taylors mother. I started with Lucas having a variant of Dragons power and Taylors Mom being a super dead Yume, but then someone pointed me at Dauntless' powers and I had this, much better idea. As for Taylors Mother, well, shes now alive and someone very different. I'll keep who to myself for now.**

 **So, Lucas' power. I think I managed to explain it pretty well, although I did leave out two details. The first is that the size of the item Enchanted determines how much energy is needed before it becomes useful, the second is that his power does NOT play well with Tinkertech. Originally, it was going to be all electronics, but I want him to make a bike, so I changed it.**

 **The situation with Taylor having both Parents and yet still being bullied is one that I'm sure will get some attention, but think about it. How many kids get bullied but don't tell their Parents, despite having a decent relationship with them? In this case, its because Taylor still subconsciously has some loyalty to Emma and shes basically been beaten down so much she never even thought of trying to talk to her Parents. Plus, her Mother isn't really the type of person who'd hold back much…**

 **I...really don't think I fooled anyone with regards to Amy's identity, did I? Either in terms of her introduction, or which Sekirei she actually is.**

 **Actually, that brings up an interesting point about the Sekirei in this world. Without MBI to fuck with their powers, all Sekirei are actually stronger in this version of reality than in Canon. Even the weakest of them has at least an 8 in one of the PRT's rankings, with the more powerful ones getting even higher than that. I suspect that Miya's is stupidly high.**

 **And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back with the first chapter of the new year! Heres hoping its a good one! Nothing else to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

Taylor sighed as she shut her locker and started heading for her first class of the day, ignoring the looks she was getting from the students around her. She really, REALLY didn't want to be in school today, not when she still had so much to think about. She'd basically come to terms with the fact that she wasn't Human any more, if she'd ever been Human in the first place, although she wasn't best pleased that her Parents had kept it from her for so long. It kinda seemed like the sort of thing that should be included in the TALK after all.

Another big reason that she didn't really want to be in school right now was because with her Winging, she'd gained enhanced strength and durability, not to the same level as someone like Glory Girl since an Ability Type like her didn't need it, but still enough to do some serious damage to a Human without issue. Combine that with the fact she wasn't entirely sure if she could just stand there and take the abuse thrown at her for much longer without retaliating.

She could do it to. While she wasn't exactly keen on the idea of fighting (until she got her powers at least and even then, going out was more out of a sense of obligation as a Cape than anything), her Mother had made sure to teach her how to defend herself. If she wanted to, she could easily take down Emma and Madison and likely do some damage to Sophia, despite the psychos obvious familiarity with violence. The problem was that if she did that, she'd be the one to get in trouble and she still held a certain amount of hope that Emma might come back to her one day. Admittedly, it was dying fast, but it was there nonetheless.

"Well, look whos here."

Taylor paused and sighed.

"Can't this wait?" she asked as she turned to face her tormentors.

Taylor felt a momentary flare of satisfaction at the looks of surprise on the bullies faces, before Emma's face twisted back into a sickening smile.

"Now now Taylor, no need to be rude," she said in a faux sweet voice, "We just wanted to make sure you were OK. You missed school yesterday after all."

"I had...family business to deal with," saiid Taylor, "Is that all?"

Emma's expression faulted slightly at the lack of expected reaction, before she refocused on another potential weak point.

"I see you've changed your wardrobe," she said, "Its very...you Taylor."

Taylor looked down at said new wardrobe. Shortly before her Dad had taken her home the day before, Uzume and Sabah had arrived home and handed her a package that contained, much to her surprise, a Pairan brand jacket. When asked how in the hell they'd managed to get something like that from the Rogue and why they'd done so for her, they'd just smiled and Uzume had told her it was a gift to celebrate meeting her Ashikabi.

The jacket was dark gray, the same as her now destroyed costumes bodysuit with the outline of a beetle on the back in red with the number 77 on its wing covers and the Sekirei symbol just under the neck over where her own symbol was located on the back of her neck. It had a hood like her old jacket, but unlike that one, this one wasn't a size too large and did an excellent job of showing the fact that she'd developed a fair bit from the skinny girl she'd been just three months ago. While she was happy that she no longer had the chest of an 11 year old, she was mildly annoyed that she'd needed to buy three new bras in three months.

"Thanks, I like it," said Taylor, not bothering to acknowledge the implied insult.

After all, if Emma saw the label inside, she'd probably either flip her lid or faint over the fact she'd insulted a jacket made by Pairan. Plus, now that she was confronted by the three girls who'd made her life hell for the past two years, she couldn't help but be...underwhelmed. Maybe it was because they really couldn't do much to hurt her any more, the ever present warmth in the back of her head that represented her bond with Lucas, or maybe it was because of exposure to Mrs Asame's Demon Mask, but she could suddenly see the Bitches Three for what they really were. A group of immature brats with an overinflated sense of entitlement. The only one who really stood out as being particularly dangerous was Sophia and that was mainly because Taylor was sure she wasn't entirely right in the head.

"Anyway, its nearly time for first period to begin, so if you'll excuse me," she said, turning and heading down the hall.

She had not gone far before a heavy hand landed on her shoulder.

"Don't you walk away fro...WHOA?!"

Taylor reacted, grabbing the offending wrist and twisting, tripping Sophia and sending her crashing to the floor.

"Leave me alone," she said as she dropped Sophia's arm and slung her backpack back over her shoulder.

Once again, she hadn't got far before the sound of footsteps made her react, ducking under the swing Sophia took at her head and responded by planting a solid fist in her stomach, barely remembering to pull the blow enough that she didn't break anything. Despite that, the bully went flying off her feet and hit the ground hard, gasping for breath and clutching her stomach.

Taylor huffed and turned away, once again starting down the hall. She'd probably catch some flack for that later, but at this point she just didn't care anymore.

"Hold it right there bitch!"

Taylor sighed as she stopped for the fourth time and turned on her heel, ignoring the gathering crowd who were interested in the upcoming bloodbath. Some were even using their phones to record, the bastards.

"WHAT now?" she asked, now getting rather annoyed, "I don't want to be late for class!"

Sophia ignored her as she stumbled to her feet, still holding her stomach as she glared at Taylor and shrugged off Madison and Emma's attempts to help her up.

"You...you've been holding back," she snarled.

"What are you talking about?" asked Taylor.

"Don't you fuck with me!" yelled Sophia, "I know a trained punch when I see one! You've known how to fight this entire time!"

Taylor sighed. Looks like she wouldn't be getting away for a while yet. Might as well get it over with.

"Mom taught me to fight when I was a kid," she said, "Considering how dangerous this city can be, my Parents thought I should know how to defend myself."

"Then why didn't you ever fight back?!" snarled Sophia, "You've taken everything like some pathetic whipped mutt when you could have fought back at any time!"

"And where would that have got me?" snapped Taylor, "I don't know how you've managed it, but you three can apparently do no wrong in Blackwells eyes! All fighting back would have done is get me in trouble and, frankly, your not worth it. Now, if your done, I'm going to class."

* * *

There were many things in the world that Sophia Hess hated, but chief among all of them was being dismissed as a threat. The very core of her personal identity was based around being the biggest threat around, the Apex Predator as it were, so the revelation that the girl she'd long considered to be the very worst kind of weakling could have fought back at any time but considered her to be beneath her notice sent the already angry girl over the edge.

Ignoring the pain in her stomach and the shouts from her 'friends', she charged at Taylor once again. The other girl shifted and moved to counter, but Sophia, her mind basically consumed by anger and a desire to just _hurt_ the bitch who'd dismissed her so readily, reacted instinctively and shifted into her shadow state, returning to her Human form inside Taylors guard and landing a blow to her face. Taylor stumbled back as Sophia gave a savage grin, her blood roaring in her ears.

"How do you like that bitch!?" she yelled, "Still think I'm not worth it?!"

She tensed as Taylor slowly stood, her eyes covered by her fringe.

"I see, so thats it," she muttered, "Well, it explains why Blackwell never did anything. I bet shes getting payed for you being here, although I have to wonder how much is greed and how much is maliciousness."

Sophia frowned.

"What are you talking ab…" she started, before she suddenly realized what she'd done and blanched.

She looked around, her stomach falling even further as she realized that she'd just outed herself in front of a good chunk of the school, including members of all three gangs and a good portion of the people were recording with looks of glee on their faces. She turned back to Taylor and her blood immediately began to boil at the sight of the look of satisfaction on her long time victims face.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" she roared, her rage filled mind not bothering to note the fact that it really wasn't.

She didn't carry weapons in school, she wasn't that stupid, but she did know who did sport knives, even those who didn't wear them openly. Since she was already outed anyway and any real sense of coherent thought had been buried under rage and a desire to gut the bitch responsable, Sophia's hand snapped out, turning shadow to snatch a rather large combat knife of a hulking boy in ABB colour's belt before anyone could react and, once again, charge Taylor. Sure, it hasn't worked the last three times, but Sophia wasn't really thinking at that moment.

Taylor reacted with surprising speed, shifting into a stance to counter an armed opponent as a low buzzing began to fill the air, but Sophia had plenty of experience fighting skilled opponents. All it would take was shifting at just the right moment and no one would ever dismiss her again! She drew back her arm to stab Taylor and…

"WHOA nelly, thats enough of that!"

A strong hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her cold and snapping something cold and metallic around it. Her head snapped around, only for her blood to run cold, taking her rage with it when she saw the familiar red suit and annoying grin of Assault, although his ever present grin was a little more shark-like than normal. She instinctively shifted, but a massive electric shock from the Tinkertech bracelet zapped her so badly she passed out.

* * *

Taylor watched with a small amount of amusement as Sophia tried to escape, only to get zapped for her trouble. She wasn't entirely sure where Assault had come from, but she certainly wasn't going to turn down the help since she wasn't sure she could have stopped Sophia for good without using her powers.

"What is going on here?!" demanded a shrill voice as Principle Blackwell arrived on the scene, "What are you all doing here? You should be in cl…!"

She stopped short as she shoved her way into the crowd and spotted the tableau. Her eyes darted from Taylor , to the shocked looking Emma and Madison, before landing on Assault, who was still holding Sophia up by the wrist. At the sight of the Protectorate Hero holding up the obviously unconscious Ward, she went a bit of a funny colour.

"A-ah, Assault, may I ask what your doing here?" she asked.

Assault grinned.

"Well, we do like to keep an eye out for any potential issues for our members," he said, "Things like our Capes identities getting released to the public, so when we received a report of one of our probationary Wards outing herself while assaulting another student, Puppy and I were sent to pick her up."

"Please don't call me that while we're on duty," said Battery as she stepped out of the crowd holding a duffle bag in one hand, a handful of very lethal looking crossbow bolts in the other and a scowl on her face, "Now then Miss Blackwell, I believe you have some explaining to do."

* * *

Half an hour later, Taylor was feeling rather good about the day, despite the fact she was sat outside of the Principles office. After all, she'd just got to see one of her principal bullies getting dragged away by the PRT in cuffs after she'd managed to zap herself twice more trying to escape.

She hadn't been best pleased to discover that her tormentor was one of the Wards and had been ready to storm down to the PRT HQ to demand answers, but considering the fact that Battery had clearly been more than a little angry at Blackwell and the prompt response from the PRT following the outing of Stalker by her classmates meant that she was at least willing to listen to reason.

The seat beside her clattered on the floor as Assault dropped into it, a bar of chocolate clenched between his teeth and ever present grin on his face.

"So, how ya holdin up sis?" he asked.

Taylor gave the red clad man an odd look.

"Sis?" she asked.

Assaults smile widened as he turned slightly and tapped the back of his neck. On the back of his costume, barely visible since it was only a shade darker than the rest of it, was the Sekirei symbol.

"Armesy aint the only one with a birdy on his shoulder," he said.

"I...see," said Taylor.

She put that aside for the moment in favour of answering the older Sekireis actual question.

"I guess I'm fine," she said, "I'm not best pleased, but from the sound of it, Sophia's been pulling the wool over your eyes."

Assaults smile slipped slightly.

"Yeah, just a bit," he said, "Blackwell was supposed to report any infractions to us, but apparently she and her case worker decided that they wanted to keep her here, Blackwell for the extra cash and the knowledge that she had a Ward present in case any gang trouble started, and her case worker because she wanted to keep the cushy posting. The Directors on the warpath trying to find out just how far this whole thing goes, especially after we found details of that...prank with your locker."

Taylor grimaced at the reminder of the worst day of her life.

"Yeah, that should have raised some eyebrows, but somehow the cops who investigated thought that what amounts to biological terrorism wasn't worth investigating," said Assault, "Don't worry, Hess will be going down for this, as will most of the staff here at Winslow."

"Well, thats something at least," muttered Taylor.

At that moment, the door opened and a very angry looking Danny Hebert entered, followed by an equally furious looking Alan and Zoe Barnes and two people Taylor didn't know, but summised were likely Madisons Parents judging from the way the smaller girl shrank under their glares.

"Are you alright Taylor?" asked Danny.

"Yep, perfectly fine," said Taylor with a smirk.

"Good, in that case, give me ten minutes to yell at your…'Principal' and then I'm taking you home," said Danny, spitting out the word Principal like he wanted to say something a little more descriptive, "Your not staying here any longer."

"Got it," said Taylor.

Danny nodded sharply to Assault, then stormed over to the door, opening it with a little more force than was probably needed and marching inside. Taylor sat back to wait, a little disappointed that she would be missing the fireworks.

* * *

I twitched slightly as I felt another wave of emotion come down the bond I shared with Taylor, making me look up from the computer I was using in the general direction of Winslow.

"What the hell is going on over there?" I muttered.

I'd been feeling the heightened emotions since shortly before nine, ranging from aggravation, to outright anger, to a brief flash of fear, then confusion and finally satisfaction. I was tempted to call Taylor and find out what in the world was going on (no Mother dying to a mobile induced accident meant that the Hebert Household had no fear of said devices), but she was currently in school and I didn't want to interrupt. Besides, I could get the story later and was currently much more interested in the research I was doing.

After waking up and enjoying a top notch breakfast, I'd asked Tess if I could borrow one of her computers and proceeded to start figuring out what was different about this world compared with Canon Worm. The most obvious thing was the lack of any real S-rank threats in North America since any that popped up tended to get smacked down quickly by the Discipline Squad, which was basically the Guilds version of the Triumvirate, although the membership had changed over the years. The likes of Nilbog, the Machine Army, the S9 and even Heartbreaker had all been dealt with, either intentionally or not. The Teeth were still at large, although that was mainly because the Butcher was still a pain to put down, and the Fallen were a non-issue after one of their factions were obliterated after attempting to kidnap some Wards. They still existed, but were reduced to the level of nuisance. Oh, and the Endbringers were still destroying stuff every three months, but from what I could tell, the addition of however main high level and heroic Capes in the form of the Sekirei meant that most of the attacks were a little less destructive...sort of. Newfoundland and Kyushu were still sunk and there were far to many domed cities as a result of the Simurgh. Unfortunately, no matter how powerful they were, the Sekirei simply didn't have the power to kill the monsters.

As for the likes of the gangs and Villains in general, it mostly boiled down to the same issues as canon. While the Sekirei were almost inevitably forces for good whenever they did get involved, since they basically ran on good feelings, the addition of one or two more Heroes just wasn't enough and Villains were either broken out or broke out themselves when they were arrested. That said, there was one major difference. Brockton Bay wasn't quite the shithole it was in Canon. Oh, the gangs were still a problem, but the addition of the Hannaya of the North scaring everyone enough that they weren't willing to starts fights in her territory, Homura acting as an independent hero and the Lightning Twins keeping the gangs mostly honest in the area around the DWU facility, they had far less of a grip on the city. Plus, Piggot hadn't been injured nearly as badly in this world thanks to the intervention of the Discipline Squad, meaning that she was both in much better health and a lot less antagonistic towards Capes in general, allowing her to be much more effective at keeping a lid on things. It wasn't perfect, but the city at least wasn't on the verge of collapse. It also meant that the Merchants weren't quite as much of a problem due to there being less desperate people to pray on.

To be honest, I was a little curious as to whether or not the Cauldron was still running their little experiment here, if at all, considering that potentially annoying someone like Miya seemed like a recipe for disaster. Especially after I found the video of what she did the the Siberian. Not Manton, the actual projection. I have no idea how, but she somehow carved up a projection thats supposed to be indestructible like roast turkey, killing Manton with the backlash in the process. She also managed to kill Crawler by slicing him in half and destroying his Core, but considering that she could do that to battleships, it honestly wasn't that impressive.

"Miya, can I just say that you are extremely scary," I said bluntly, making sure not to swear because Riley was helping Miya with the laundry.

Incidentally, do you have any idea how weird it was to see Bonesaw helping with chores while dressed as a Wagtail? Apparently she'd be taking Kus role of adorably adorable kid for this tale, assuming of course that Ku wasn't adorably adorable herself. I hope not, I don't need the cavities from the inevitable sweetness.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," said Miya with a sweet smile, "I'm just a perfectly ordinary Landlady."

"Sure, whatever you say," I said.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, followed by the sound of socked feet on the wooden floor as Tess answered it. A moment later, she entered the room with a large grin on her face and a box in her hands.

"Whats that?" I asked.

"Oh, just a little something I asked a friend to whip up," she said, setting the box down on the table.

She opened it to reveal what looked like a male version of the Discipline Squad uniform with the addition of a face mask like Homura wore and a black longcoat instead of the gray haori.

"Whats this for?" I asked.

"You," said Tess.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, don't pretend like you're not planning to go out," she said, "Even if you weren't a Cape, Taylor is definitely the type to use her powers to help and your the type of Ashikabi who won't stay on the sidelines. With this, you'll have a strong base for creating your gear and will be less likely to get killed by a lucky shot."

"Well, when you put it like that…" I said.

"Don't use up all your energy now," said Miya, "Once I'm done with this, we'll get you trained."

"Oh goodie," I muttered as I picked up the coat and started considering what I wanted for my gear.

 **And you know what? I'm going to end this here. Sure, its a little shorter than I'd like, but its not a bad place to end and I'm not actually 100% sure what I'm going to do with his gear yet.**

 **So, moving onto some points, lets start with Taylor. While her confidence is still rock bottom thanks to the Bitches Three and she is still similar enough to be immediately identified by someone who knows their Worm, the fact shes a Sekirei inevitably means that she'll be a bombshell once she grows up. As for her jacket, most Sekirei seem to wear something with their number on it when in casual clothes. Why is Taylor 77? No idea.**

 **I really hope my reasoning for why she never fought back made sense. Basically, since she doesn't know that Sophias fucked up in the head, she came to the logical conclusion that beating the crap out of her bullies would do nothing but get her in trouble. Plus, there were a lot more of them than her and, before being Winged, Sophia was naturally stronger than her.**

 **Sophia snapping might have seemed to come out of nowhere, but I think it makes sense. A mix of super strength induced confidence and the fact that Taylors still on a bit of a high from finding her Ashikabi resulted in her 'pray' not acting like she was supposed to, combined with the realization that she could have fought back whenever she wanted but didn't bother because she didn't want the hassle of dealing with the fallout caused Sophia's world to crumble and she snapped.**

 **I think it makes sense that the PRT would keep an eye on the internet for any potential information leaks and it probably took about three seconds for fifty people to post the video of an unmasked Shadow Stalker attacking another student. Assault and Battery happened to be the closest on patrol, so they were sent to get a lid on things.**

 **Yes, Assault is a Sekirei and Battery is his Ashikabi.**

 **A quick glimpse at how the world has been affected by the addition of Sekirei. Basically, its better in some ways, much the same in others for much the same reason that the DC and Marvel worlds still have problems, despite having God-like protectors.**

 **Still not sure what I'm going to do with the Cauldron, but I doubt they're actually involved in Brockton this time. Mainly because the Path to Victory probably threw up a 404 error when pointed at Miya (that was a joke incidentally).**

 **Yes, I'm giving Riley Ku's role of hanging around in cute costumes from Uzume. Why? Because we need an adorably adorable blonde around and Ku isn't available!**

 **I like the look of the Discipline Squads uniform and I imagine its made of some sturdy stuff, so why not? Suggestions for Enchantments welcome.**

 **Anyway, this is done now, so I'm gonna sign out. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

Jason Myers, the man known as Hatchet Face, was an interesting case. In another world, he would be an infamous killer, known as a boogyman to virtually everyone in the contrary as a prolific killer of Capes. In this one, he was still pretty prolific, but without Jack to direct him or the backup of people like Bonesaw, he was much less dangerous. Still not to be underestimated, but more than manageable.

Currently, he was making his way through a forest in the middle of nowhere, having just avoided being spotted by an Aerokinetic who, judging from her travel pattern, was likely looking for him after he'd been spotted killing another Brute in a nearby town. Normally, he'd try to take her out as well, but he'd learnt the hard way that taking down Blasters and Shakers was best done with an ambush where he got them into his range before they knew he was there. If they knew he was coming, they tended to keep their distance, cowards that they were.

The sound of a stick snapping drew Jason up short. He crouched down and looked around, quickly spotting the source. Walking through the trees a short distance away, and well within his area of affect, was a woman with long, gray hair tied up in a ponytail and pale skin, wearing a black and gray costume and carrying a long sword he vaguely recognized as being Japanese in origin. She wasn't wearing a mask, but the outfit and sword screamed Cape, especially considering it was identical to the aerokinetic he'd spotted earlier.

Jason smiled evilly as he tensed his leg muscles, ready to jump at her the moment she was within range. A moment later, she did and he pounced, the weapon that gave him his name arching towards the womans head.

He wasn't expecting her to duck.

Before he could recover from the swing, the woman turned on her heel and slammed the hilt of her sword into his stomach, a blow that should have done nothing but instead sent him flying back with a loud gasp as his breath was forced from his lungs. The force of the blow made him slam into a tree hard enough to knock some branches loose, but he managed to keep hold of his weapon. He opened his eyes, gritting his teeth against the unfamiliar pain, to see the woman walking towards him with a faint smirk on her lips as she pushed her sword a few inches out of its sheath.

"Well, this is a lucky break," she said, "I was hoping I'd be the one to find you. Do me a favour and make this fun for me, its been too long since I got to play."

Hatchet Face gritted his teeth in rage. It was that very arrogance he hated most about Capes, the fact that they looked down on people they viewed as weaker than them. His power let him bring them down to the level of Human, to see how the powerless felt before they died, but for some reason, this bitch appeared to be unaffected. Still, even if he couldn't neutralize her powers, he was still strong enough to kill her!

He let out a roar and surged to his feet, swinging his hatchet with all his strength and…

* * *

"Tch, what a waste of time," said the woman known as Black Crow, better known as Karasuba, as she flicked blood off her sword and returned it to its sheath, "All that build up and he disappoints me."

"Well, this is unusual," said a beautiful woman as she landed next to Karasuba in a swirl of wind and flower petals.

She had dark purple hair and eyes, as well as an impressive figure most modals would happily commit murder to have and was carrying a hipflask that had been full of saki, but was now clearly empty judging from the stench of alcohol that surrounded her.

"Whats unusual?" asked Karasuba.

"Normally you'd toy with our targets before finishing them off," said Kazehana.

"I'm in a bit of a rush today," said Karasuba as she and Kazehana started making their way back to the rendezvous point so they could catch their lift home, "Somethings come up at home that I need to deal with."

"Oh, I still can't believe that you found your Ashikabi before me," pouted Kazehana, "I was certain that you'd scare everyone off with that attitude of yours. Not only that, but you've got your adorable Daughter! I'm so jealous!"

"Heh, to be honest, I'm as surprised as you," said Karasuba with a soft smile, pulling out her phone and flipping it open to reveal a photo of her with a bespectacled man holding a small girl with curly brown hair, "Still, I wouldn't change it for the world…"

She smirked, her soft smile turning to one so much more at home on the sadistic Sekirei's face.

"Plus, I get to see just what my little girls Ashikabis made of," she said.

"Just don't hurt him," said Kazehana, "I get that you want to make sure hes right for her, but if anything happens to him…"

"I know, I know," said Karasuba, tucking her phone away, "But I still want to make sure he won't do anything stupid."

The two women stepped out of the treeline and onto a small carpark where a van with the Guild symbol on the side was waiting for them, along with a young woman in the same uniform as the two Sekirei with long, brown hair in a ponytail and brown eyes leaning against it with a strange expression on her face.

"Is something wrong Yume?" asked Kazehana.

"No, not really," said Yume, "But I can't help but feel that something very strange has happened…"

She looked up as a pair of small birds flew out of the trees, only to be joined by another two as they fluttered through the air.

"I have a feeling that some of the Little Birds who have lost their way will soon find their Wings and fly further than anyone could imagine."

Karasuba and Kazehana glanced at each other and the latter shrugged, before taking a big gulp from her flask.

"No idea," she said.

Karasuba sighed.

"Very profound I'm sure," she said, "Now can we please go home? I've got a boy to threaten!"

* * *

"ACHOO!"

TWACK!

I smacked face first into the ground as my momentary distraction earned me a training sword to the back of the head. I groaned in pain as the rest of my body protested violently as the many other bruises that covered me from Miya's training throbbed, despite the fact that I was wearing a couple of items that boosted my healing.

I'd been out back with Miya for two hours by this point (which had helped me conclude that I had received a boost to my physiology from whatever had dumped me here since, while I was breathing heavily, I should have been flat on my back), during which time she'd given me a basic rundown of how to hold and swing the training sword properly before proceeding to beat me senseless while shouting tips and holding back just enough that I could actually keep up.

When asked between bouts, she told me that she wasn't interested in teaching me how to fight for tournaments or to show off, but to survive and be able to fight, so there was little point in teaching me any ridged style since that would take to long. If I was interested, I could learn that later, but for now, being able to fight was more important.

I had no argument for that, nor did I really want to and quickly found myself flat on my back again afterwards.

On the up side, I was lasting longer and longer against Miya as my training gear helped my body adapt and learn at a speed that was actually rather scary. I had to wonder if that was how Uber felt when he first got his powers.

"Don't get distracted," said Miya as I sat up rubbing my head, "Do that in a real fight and you could end up dead."

"I know, but that sneeze came out of nowhere," I grumbled, "I think someones talking about me."

"Heh, you actually believe that old wives tale?" asked Kagari as he stepped through the doors.

"In a world like this, its far from impossible," I said as I tilted my head back.

As I did, I noticed something a little odd. Namely that Kagari looked a little...different.

"Um, you didn't have tits yesterday, did you?" I asked without thinking.

Kagari's eye twitched slightly, before he sighed and sat down on the step.

"I'm one of the Single Digits," he said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a small flame generated on his thumb, "Unfortunately, for reasons I don't feel like going into, my abilities come with the issue of my gender being unstable. Basically, I tend to switch gender daily. Its…annoying to say the least, but I'm used to it."

I blinked then shook my head.

"Fair enough," I said, then flipped to my feet.

I paused for a moment to absorb the fact that I'd learnt to do that in less than a day. My power is freaking awesome.

Then all thoughts were banished as I brought up my training sword to block an arm numbing strike from Miyas.

* * *

"Wow, you look like hell."

I turned my head and fixed Taylor with a half hearted glare. My Sekirei just grinned and walked into the room where I was working on Enchanting my gear, dropping down next to me and leaning into me with a sigh.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Yeah, just glad to have a moment to breath," she said, "Todays been...interesting."

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that your here at one?" I asked.

"You could say that," said Taylor.

After a bit of prompting, Taylor told me about what happened. I was mildly surprised that Assault was a Sekirei, but it wasn't really a big issue.

"Did you know that Sophia was Shadow Stalker?" asked Taylor once she was done.

"I did," I said, "I actually intended to deal with her at some point, but it sounds like her own stupidity saved me the trouble."

"And the reason you didn't mention it was…?"

"Largely because shes easy to deal with," I said, "One photo of Shadow Stalker on an unauthorized patrol with lethal ammunition and the PRT would likely come down on her with both feet. If that didn't work, I'd drop a bug in Armsmasters ear about her violating her parole and let him sort it out."

"How would you manage that?" asked Taylor.

"Lets just say that Colin isn't exactly a desk jockey," I said.

"Oh? OHHH!"

Taylors eyes went wide and she glanced in the direction of Colin and Tess' room.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Huh…"

There was a moments silence as I put aside the shirt I was Enchanting and picked up the gloves. For some reason, the material was incredibly receptive to my power and accepted the Enchantments with startling ease, enough that I could put far more potency in with less energy than I was expecting.

"Hey Lucas, I was wondering something," said Taylor.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know why Emma turned on me?"

I paused and glanced at my Sekirei.

"I do," I said, "But do you really want to hear it from me?"

Taylor looked thoughtful for a moment, before she shook her head.

"No, I want to hear it from Emma," she said, "Mr Barnes said that they are going to be looking into getting her some therapy, so I'll try asking her in the future. I would like to know what happened to her though."

I sighed.

"She died," I said, "In the final battle, she refused to evacuate and ended up committing suicide by inaction. She was basically broken by everything she went through."

I sighed again.

"Honestly, its more tragic than anything."

"I...see," said Taylor, looking like she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it all, "What about the others?"

"Sophia had her life ruined by one of the Undersiders to took offence at her treatment of you and Madison...well, I don't know exactly what happened, but she changed for the better. She blamed herself for your fall to the dark side. Honestly, out of the three of them, shes pretty much a non-entity and was only doing it to fit in. Emma did it as a coping mechanism and Sophia is just fucked in the head, but Madison...yeah, she'll probably approach you to apologize at some point."

I paused and looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"In fact, if I know the cliches attached to the Worm fandom, she'll probably Trigger and become a Hero to make up for it...or turn out to be another Sekirei."

Taylor pulled a face.

"You know, its extremely weird to talk about my life like its a fictional story," she grumbled.

"How do you think I feel?" I asked, "Heck, I _wrote_ fics for Worm!"

"Thats...a little creepy," muttered Taylor, "So was...Worm popular?"

"More than a little," I said, "Honestly, it was one of the more popular stories to write fix-it fics for, most likely because it was so horrible. The fics ranged from making you so incredibly powerful you scared the Endbringers, to ones that were slightly more balanced and you still ended up going through shit, although the outcome was generally better. Hell, I've even seen fics where you ended up with the Endbringers as family, either adopted, a result of your power or, in one case, the biological daughter of the Simurgh."

Taylors face went a bit of a funny colour at the thought.

"That sounds...scary," she said.

"Great read, although I certainly wouldn't want to live it," I said with a slight smile.

Taylor shuddered and quickly turned the conversation away from Worm and towards the different books I'd read over in my reality, compared with the ones available here, making sure not to bring up the subject again. We kept chatting for the remaining time until the two of us were called down to lunch.

* * *

After lunch was over, Miya called me outside again for another training session while Taylor was handed over to Kagari (who appeared to have switched back to male form) for a round of training of her own. I Enchanted her sports gear before we started with the same learning Enchantments as mine carried to see if they worked for other people. As it turned out, they did.

"Well, I can safely say that your now good enough to hold your own against most opponents and not chop off your own limbs by accident now," said Miya once we were done for the day, "After one days training. Please excuse my french, but your power is bullshit Lucas."

I snorted.

"That is a freaking understatement," I said.

"Hmm," said Miya, "I'm not done with you yet of course, I intend to make sure you can hold your own against just about anyone before that happens, but I'm confident enough that you know what your doing to give you this."

She picked up a package that had been leaning against the wall of the house and handed it to me. Curious, I unwrapped it, revealing a black lacquered box with the Sekirei symbol on the front and golden clasps I opened it and my eyes bugged out when I saw what was inside.

Resting on a bed of red silk was a Nodachi with dark red wrapping around the hilt, a golden kashira, a diamond shaped tsuba, a white sheath with red rope wrapped around it part way down and a golden tip.

I slowly lifted the weapon from its resting place and unsheathed it a few inches, revealing a gleaming steel blade that looked like it had never even been used.

"Ah, are you sure its OK to give me this?" I asked, my voice a little horse from shock.

"Of course," said Miya, "I trust you not to do anything stupid with it and it was just sitting in storage anyway. I'd rather see it used to help keep one of my Sekirei safe than rust away as a fancy bit of decoration."

"I...I see," I said, more than a little taken aback at the gesture.

"Plus, I'm a little curious to see what you'll do with it," said Miya, "That is a Sekirei weapon, not one create by Earthly means. Unlike my Totsuga or Karasuba's sword, it doesn't have any special properties, other than being stronger and sharper than any Human sword, so it'll be interesting to see how your power responds to it."

I nodded slowly as I unsheathed the sword the rest of the way. To be honest, I was curious as well. I wasn't sure why, but for some reason, Sekirei creations, like the fabric in my costume, seemed to take my power easily, so I was interested to see how a Sekirei weapon, one likely designed to channel a Sekirei's power, would react to it. I set aside the sheath, activated my power and…

* * *

I blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out how the fuck I'd ended up flat on my back with a throbbing head, before Taylors worried face appeared in front of me.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"I...think so?" I said as I slowly sat up, "What happened?"

"I don't know, all I know is that you suddenly passed out," said Taylor, "What were you doing?"

"Well, I was about to Enchant the sword Miya gave me, then…" I trailed off as I turned my head and saw Miya examining the sword in question.

Then, my eyes widened as she lifted it.

"NO, DON…"

THOOM!

I was cut off as Miya swung the sword and an enormous blast of white light erupted, annihilating the fence, a lamp post and, fortunately, an entire alleyway of bins and dumpsters across the street before dissipating before it could destroy the wall of the building at the far end, but not before it scored a deep gash in the brickwork. Miya stared at the destruction, before glancing at me.

"Did you mean to do that?" she asked.

"Not really," I said, cringing slightly at the stench of ozone lingering in the air and the look on Miya's face, "I intended to give it the ability to generate an electrical current, but for some reason, the moment I started the process, it absorbed all my power and took on properties of its own. I'm not even sure what it can do."

"I see," she said, "I hope your not planning on using this…"

"HELLS no!" I said emphatically, "Theres no way I'm using a weapon like that for thugs!"

Miya stared at me for a moment longer, then nodded.

"Good," she said and sheathed the sword.

To my suprise, the blade didn't simply slice through the sheath, but I brushed it off for now. Instead, I reached into the first aid box Taylor had brought and grabbed a roll of bandages. I measured out a length and cut it off, ignoring the looks I was getting from the two Sekirei, and charged the fabric with my power. Once that was done, I picked up my sword and held the bandage close to it. The moment one end came into contact with the weapon, it came alive and wrapped tightly around the hilt and sheath, blinding the sword tightly inside the sheath.

"There, that oughta do it," I said.

"Do what?" asked Miya.

"The bandage is a Seal," I said, "Basically, so long as it remains wrapped around the sword, its power is sealed. I don't really want to activate it by accident and vaporize some poor schmuck in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeahhh, that could be bad," said Taylor, glancing at the devastation that came from a relatively small swing of the blade.

"Do you still intend to use it?" asked Miya, sounding curious.

"Sure, I can still Enchant the sheath after all," I said, shifting my grip to do just that, "Plus, while its not really suitable for use against mooks, you never know when a trump card will come in handy."

Miya nodded, looking satisfied.

"Just remember, that power of yours is dangerous," she said, "Be careful."

"Thats probably good advice."

Without thinking, I reacted to the sudden voice from right behind me and swung my sword at the source. However, instead of cracking into a skull, it smacked into another sheathed sword and was shoved aside with little apparent effort.

"Not bad, but you need more training," said the newcomer.

I blinked as I took him in. He was tall and slim, with silvery hair and gray eyes. Other than that, his outfit was immediately recognizable as the one worn by Number 5, Mutsu, albeit with the PRT logo on his breast.

"Um, thanks?" I said.

"Do you need something Mutsu?" asked Miya with a slightly strained smile.

"I was just curious as to what cause this," said Mutsu, waving at the deverstation, "New Triggers tend to cause trouble and Emily prefers to remain on top of things. So, your the cause?"

"Ehhhh, sort of," I said, then blinked, "Wait, Emily? As in, Emily Piggot?"

"Hnn, shes my Ashikabi," said Mutsu.

I blinked and pulled a face. That...wasn't what I was expecting in all honesty. Still, it could be worse I guess. At least he wasn't working for Coil or something, if only because I really didn't want to fight a Single Digit if I could help it.

"Anyway, now I know its not a new Villain, I'll be on my way," said Mutsu, "See ya Hannya, kid."

He wandered off down the street.

"Well, that was...interesting?" said Taylor while Miya just sighed.

"Hes always been like that," she said, "Where did I go wrong with him…"

"Heh, you sound like his Mother," I muttered.

"Hmm?"

I flinched as Miya turned her smile on me.

"Mother? Oh no, I'm more like a big sister," she said as her Mask appeared.

"R-right, big sister!" I yelped.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the mask vanished and Miya headed inside to start the dinner.

"Jeeze, and I thought my Mom was scary," muttered Taylor.

She shook her head.

"Anyway, now that we're done with the chaos, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow?" she asked.

"Well, considering all I have to do at the moment is research or get the crap beaten out of me, I'd say yes," I said.

Taylor ignored my sarcasm.

"In that case, how about we go shopping?" she asked, "I can show you around the city and you can get some clothes and other necessities of your own."

"That sounds like a good idea," I said, "Although I don't exactly have any money…"

"Don't worry, I can pay," said Taylor, "Moms job pays well, so we're not exactly hurting for cash. Plus, Dad said he didn't mind covering getting you set up."

"Well, thats nice of him," I said, "Sure, why not? I can't keep borrowing clothes and all I have is a toothbrush. Hmm, I wonder if I could make some money with my powers…"

I shrugged.

"Something to look into I guess."

I got to my feet and glanced at the hole in the fence.

"I really hope Miya doesn't make me fix that," I said.

"Well, it was kinda your fault," said Taylor.

"How was it my fault?" I asked, "She was the one who swung around an Enchanted weapon without knowing what it did!"

We headed back inside, playfully bickering the whole way. As we did, I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't been here for long and I knew that things would only get harder, but for the first time, I honestly felt like I belonged.

 **Hmm, not sure where that ending came from...eh, whatever. Speaking of not having any idea where all this came from, I honestly expected to have done the Bank Job by now, but stuff took longer than I thought...eh, I guess thats a good thing in the long run.**

 **Just in case anyone hasn't already figured out that Karasuba was Taylors Mother in this world, heres Karasuba hunting down Hatchet Face. If your wondering why he wasn't already dead, without the Nine backing him up, he was much less of a danger. Still bad enough to send the Discipline Squad after, but not enough that he was high up the list compared with some of the other nasties.**

 **I'm not sure why Kazehana's a drunk in this reality, but considering that its a pretty big part of her character, she is. I might come up with a reason later, but for now its because she just likes booze.**

 **I'm...not entirely sure where the fourth wall breaking chat came from, it just...happened. They won't be regular things, although there will be some more.**

 **In case its not obvious or you just haven't watched the Fairy Tail Anime, I based Lucas' sword on Archenemy, the sword used by Kagura Mikazuchi. Its abilities aren't exactly the same and its sheath has properties of its own, but I loved the design and idea so much I just had to use it.**

 **Mutsu's come a fairly long way. To be honest, I don't really like him much, but I think a lot of that came from a fic I read at some point. I originally intended for him to be a Villain, but after some thought, I decided it wouldn't be appropriate. Instead, hes Piggots Sekirei. Yeah, thats...more than a little odd.**

 **Last point before I wrap this up, I'm having trouble coming up with a good name for Lucas and Taylor. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete. Ideas please!**

 **Anyway, time to wrap this up. Until next time, don't forget to leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

Surprisingly, the shopping trip went by without to much difficulty. I admit, I was half expecting to get dragged into a fight or one of Uber and Leets shows, but instead I got everything I wanted and was home in time for tea. After eating, I dropped by Tess' office to raise the possibility of possibly using my power to make some money considering that my Enchanted gear could be used by anyone. I imagined that the PRT and Protectorate could be interested in bottomless storage containers or indestructible armour. Things like that tended to work well, regardless of how much energy was applied to them. It was mostly active effects and targeted buffs to the user that needed time and more energy to become truly effective.

"Well, its definitely a possibility," said Tess, looking thoughtful, "You'd need to apply for a Rogue Licence and undergo Power Testing at the PRT HQ, but you're not wrong. Plus, I'm sure that you could find other uses for your creations the public would be interested in."

"Hmm, makes sense," I said, "I have to wonder if I could use my power to create mass production machines that make enhanced items…"

I trailed off as my power pinged and helpfully informed me that, yes, I could indeed do that. I couldn't create anything that created more Enchanted items, but I could Enchant machines that would in turn create much higher quality and stronger products.

"Apparently I can," I muttered, "Huh, interesting…"

Tess blinked.

"Thinker or Tinker power?" she asked.

"Apparently," I said, "Its handy though. It means I don't have to experiment."

"Alright then, if thats what you want to do, I'll make an appointment for Power Testing in a couple of days," she said, "Before that though, I suggest that you create a bank account for your Civilian identity. While you'll need another for your Cape one if you get a Rogue Licence, you'll need somewhere to transfer the money to for everyday use."

"How does that work?" I asked.

Tess smiled thinly.

"There are a couple of different groups who offer Rogues money moving service," she said, "Most use either the Toybox or a guy called the Number Man since they have a reputation of being trustworthy, despite having rather steep prices, although there are others available."

"Like you?" I asked.

"Only those who are affiliated with the Guild," she said, "Which is basically code for those who are Ashikabi and Sekirei."

"Blimey, you Single Digits sure are protective of the others," I said.

"Of course we are," said Tess with a smirk, "Its in our nature...mostly."

I thought about some of the Single Digits in the Anime and winced. Yeah, I really couldn't see someone like Karasuba being much of a parent or older sibling for anyone who wasn't a psychopath.

"Alright, guess I'm going to the bank tomorrow," I said, getting to my feet, "Thanks for the help."

"Any time," said Tess, turning back to her computer.

I walked out of her office, thinking hard. For some odd reason, I couldn't help but think that I'd forgotten something. After a moment's thought, I shrugged and headed to my room to finish my latest creation.

* * *

The next day I got up bright and early for an ass kicking from Miya and to finish working on my costume. Now, in addition to my sword, I had a pair of boots Enchanted with 'movement' that essentially boosted my speed and jumping ability, the laces of my boots were Enchanted to allow me to reorient my own gravity and run along any surface, my trousers were Enchanted with a regeneration booster, my shirt with a boost to my strength, my coat had a defence booster that, combined with the fact it was already pretty tough, could likely deflect high caliber bullets, my gloves were the same learning Enchantment as my exercise gear, just because I had a feeling that combat experience would give me an even larger boost, my belt carried a shield Enchantment that would allow me to create, well, shields if needed and my mask was Enchanted to act as a dust/gas mask that would, hopefully, keep me from breathing anything unpleasant. In addition to the gear provided by Tess, I also included an addition of my own.

During the shopping trip yesterday, I'd stumbled on something rather interesting in the market. I have no idea where it came from, but I'd found a hat that looked almost exactly like the Hunter Hat from Bloodborne, right down to the feathered ends at the back. Considering I loved the design of the thing in the game, I decided that I might as well add something to make my gear more my own and snapped it up. Now it carried an Enchantment that would make it impossible to use any Thinker or Tinker wizardry to figure out who I was, on top of looking incredibly stylish.

I'd also added an Elemental Enchantment to my sword sheath as an experiment that had come out far better than I expected. I had a feeling that the reason that my costume and weapons Enchantments were so strong were because they were intended for battle and my Shard decided to give me a little extra oomph because of it. That...was a little worrying to be honest.

I didn't really like the idea that my Shard might have enough will to decide to give my power that bit of extra when combat was involved because it implied that it may be able to influence me. I didn't particularly want to end up being pushed into bad situations by the conflict drive, not when it wasn't just my life on the line. I wasn't entirely sure what would happen to Taylor if I popped my clogs, but I doubted it'd be good, assuming that she didn't just keel over too. Yeah, kinda want to avoid that.

Still, it wasn't really something I could deal with right now, so I put it aside. I'd just need to keep an eye on what I ended up doing and hope that it didn't spring anything on me at the worst possible time.

Anyway, other than my costume, I also created one more item that would be extremely helpful. I had little interest in being caught out and about without my gear, so I'd Enchanted my watch with the power to store my costume in a pocket dimension and swap whatever I was wearing with whatever was stored in said pocket dimension, which apparently counted as one. I still wasn't entirely sure whether my power worked on symbolism, my imagination of what the Enchantment should be or something else entirely, but I wasn't about to complain.

I also Enchanted my underwear and socks with a protection and learning Enhancement respectively.

With that done, I turned my attention to my last project for the day before my appointment at the bank, Taylors costume. The previous day, Uzume had been waiting for the two of us when we got back to the Inn following our shopping trip and had revealed that she (and likely Sabah) had managed to repair and upgrade Taylors costume. It was now made of a mix of spider silk and the same material as was used in Sekirei costumes, which basically meant it was tougher than ever. Other than that, it was basically the same, other than the addition of a Sekirei symbol on the back and the number 77 over the heart.

Since I wasn't about to start giving Taylor new abilities without any idea of what she wanted, I started by simply Enchanting the main bodysuit, boots, gloves and mask with the same boosts as my coat, boots, gloves and mask did, before moving on and applying defence and strength boosts to the rest of the armour pieces. I'd make sure to warn her about the boosts before I saw her next and recommend that she doesn't punch anyone in her costume until she had some time to get used to the boosts.

* * *

I was just finishing folding up the finished product when a knock on the door made me look up. I smiled slightly when I saw Taylor stood there.

"Eyup," I said, "Whats up?"

"Nothing much, I just got bored flipping through channels at home," she said as she entered the room and sat down on the bed, "What are you doing?"

"Finishing up this," I said, indicating to her costume, "Oh, do you have anything you wear all the time?"

Taylor gave me a funny look, but took off the bracelet she was wearing and handed it to me. I focused for a moment, making the braided metal glow faintly, before placing it on the folded costume in front of me. There was a sucking sound and the costume vanished into the pocket dimension. Taylor blinked as she took the bracelet and examined it closely.

"Huh, thats cool," she said.

"It means that you'll never be without your costume," I said, "Here, let me show you how it works."

I gave her a quick rundown and, after a couple of attempts that resulted in Taylor somehow ending up in her underwear (don't ask) she managed to get her costume and clothes to manifest when needed. With that done, I gave a quick rundown on what her gear could do now and offered to make her something a little more...esoteric. Like a knife that could make fire. She declined.

"You sure?" I asked, "I can think of plenty of things you could do with something like an electrified baton."

"True, but I'd rather not risk hurting someone permanently," said Taylor, "Thanks for the offer though."

I shrugged.

"Fair enough," I said and glanced at the clock.

Upon seeing the time, I stood and stretched.

"Welp, I'd better get going," I said, "I got an appointment to keep."

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Taylor.

I shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" I said, "Although you might be bored while I'm signing paperwork.

Taylor shrugged.

"Thats fine," she said, "You can make it up to me with lunch."

I snorted and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as we headed out.

* * *

As it turned out, I didn't have to worry to much about keeping Taylor waiting to long since it was surprisingly easy to sort out a bank account. Apparently, Tess is really good at her job, or the process had been streamlined at some point, because I was done with the process in less than ten minutes. Unfortunately, that was still long enough for me to be reminded of exactly what it was I'd forgotten.

We were just finishing up when a loud crash echoed from the main hall of the Bank, followed by a lot of screaming, the sound of a massive dog barking. I had just enough time to let out a 'oh you have got to be…' before a cloud of black smoke came billowing into the office, cutting both me and the manager off from everything, and someone grabbed me roughly by the shoulder and frogmarched me back into the main hall where I was shoved down with the rest of the hostages.

I glanced around quickly, noting that the Undersiders were all present, along with the very recognizable form of Trainwreck. Well, that wasn't good. Guess Coil thought they needed more muscle or something. The problem was that, while I was fairly confident that Taylor and I could deal with the Undersiders canon group, I wasn't convinced that we could take on someone as tough as Trainwreck alone and, to be completely honest, I was perfectly happy to leave them to the Wards once they arrived. The problem was that I could already feel Taylor getting ready to take them down.

"Fifteen minutes," called Tattletale, "We won't be here any longer than that. Stay put, stay quiet, we'll be gone before fifteen minutes are up. You'll be free to give your statement to the police and then go about your day as usual. This isn't a TV show, this isn't a movie. If you're thinking about being a hero, don't. You'll only get yourself or someone else hurt. Oh, and don't try calling for help either. We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."

I cursed in my head as I felt Taylors determination rise. I couldn't see my Sekirei in the crowd and I didn't have enough time to locate her before she did something stupid, assuming the Undersiders would even let me start moving. Probably not considering it was Trainwreck watching over us.

At that exact moment, the sound of metal on marble and steam being released made me look up, just in time to see Trainwreck stomp up in front of a girl with frizzy, light brown hair.

"I thought we said not to call anyone," rumbled the Case 53, "Naughty girls get punished."

He reached for her. Welp, guess its time to get started.

I took a deep breath and focused on the pen I was still holding from signing the paperwork. A couple of seconds later, it was done and I clicked it and let it fall. The moment it hit the ground, a massive cloud of crimson smoke erupted.

* * *

Amy Dallon was not in the best mood. The combined effects of a long day at school, followed by a massive emergency at the hospital draining her, Carol being even more snappy with her than usual, Mark having a particular bad day and her feeling the after effects of Vicky's Aura when she tried to use it to cheer everyone up (a mix of loneliness, guilt over being attracted to her sister and a feeling that she shied away from really considering considering how closely it resembles withdrawal symptoms), meant that she was already having a pretty bad day. As a result, she just wanted to go home and fall into bed and that was exactly what she intended to do after she sorted out an issue that had popped up with her bank account, but instead she got caught up in a bank robbery by a group of Villains she'd only vaguely heard of.

She scowled, not for the first time wishing that her powers were more like Vickys, and wondering if she could risk sending a text to her sister or if she should just wait it out.

She glanced at the massive Tinker who was watching the hostages. Probably best not to.

She glanced around, trying to see if anyone had been badly hurt. While a lot of people looked scared out of their minds, no one seemed to be doing more than holding slightly bruised arms where they'd been manhandled.

Then, her gaze fell on a girl a short distance away who didn't look scared at all. In fact, she was wearing an expression that was uncomfortably familiar to the Healer. It was the same look Vicky got before she jumped into a fight.

Amy winced slightly. That would end very badly, even if the girl was a Cape which, judging from the way she was fingering her bracelet, was rather likely. Looks like she'd have to call in some reinforcements after all. She glanced around nervously, making sure that all of the Undersiders were looking away, before carefully pulling her phone out of her pocket.

And because the universe just loved taking massive steaming dumps on her, dropped it as her sweat slick hand slipped off the case.

Without thinking, she reached for the dropped phone, but before she could grab it, a massive, steampunk foot came down on it. She froze and slowly looked up at the grinning face of Trainwreck as the Tinker loomed over her.

"I thought we said not to call anyone," rumbled the Case 53, "Naughty girls get punished."

Then, he reached for her.

Before Amy could do more than recoil however, her vision was filled by a cloud of red smoke. She heard Trainwreck let out a curse, before something shot past her and there was the sound of something solid slamming into soft flesh, followed by another curse from Trainwreck and a massive gust of wind blasted away the smoke and forced her to cover her face.

"Hey now, no need to be rude," said an oddly familiar, accented voice, "Thats no way to treat a pretty lady."

Amy opened her eyes to see the source of the voice stood in front of her. Surprisingly, he wasn't that tall or even that large at all, although that didn't mean much when it came to Capes. He was clad all in black, from his boots to his long coat, to his facemask and hat, but somehow still managed to avoid looking dark and edgy, likely helped by the blue lining of his coat. In his hand, he held a sword in a white sheath with the hilt wrapped in bandages in such a way it would be impossible to draw, which seemed a little odd to Amy, but it wasn't the weirdest thing she'd seen other Capes do.

"Who the fuck are you?" growled Trainwreck.

"You may call me Vergil," said the Cape with a slightly mocking bow.

Regent snorted.

"Really?" he asked, "You named yourself after a character from a video game?"

"Actually, its the name of Dantes guide into Inferno in the Divine Comedy," said Vergil, "But if thats how you want to take it, sure."

He held up his sword, a grin apparent in his stance.

"Care to see what my Yamato can do?"

"Ah, I'd rather not," said Regent.

"Regardless of where the name came from, you don't honestly think you can take all of us alone, do you?" asked Grue.

"Hes not," said Tattletale, who had been staring at the new Cape like she wasn't sure what to make of him, "Hes not alone!"

At that exact moment, the vents around the room gave way, letting what looked like a tide of black smoke to flood into the room. No, not smoke. Amy's eyes widened as she realized that the clouds were actually insects, massive numbers of unnaturally large bugs with black exoskeletons which, although entomology wasn't exactly her speculty, she was almost certain weren't natural.

Amy looked up as someone stepped past her and nearly recoiled at the sight of what appeared at first sight to be a cloud of bugs with eyes, before she realized it was actually a girl in a dark costume with the bugs swarming around her, apparently emerging from under her hair. Well, that wasn't creepy at all.

Vergil glanced at his apparent partner, then at the swarm.

"That...seems a bit excessive," he said, "Where did you even pull all these from?"

"I didn't," said the girl, "Apparently my powers aren't bug control."

"Huh...thats interesting," said Vergil, "Whatever, we can talk about that later. For now, lets take these idiots down."

"With pleasure."

She flung her arms out and the swarm responded.

 **"Swarm Gatling,"** she muttered and her bugs shot forwards with far more speed and force than any true living creature would be capable of.

That attack should have taken down the Undersiders considering it was way too wide and fast to avoid and the only ones capable of truly blocking it were Trainwreck and Bitch. However, before it could hit, there was a flash of metal and the bugs were sliced to pieces, dissipating like smoke.

"Your late," said Grue, sounding a little relieved, although the odd reverb of his voice made it hard to tell for sure.

"Sorry boss, it took me longer than I thought to finish up," said the newcomer as she slowly straightened.

The girl looked...dark was the only word that came to mind. She was slender, with dishevelled gray hair and skin so pale it looked almost unnatural. She was wearing in a tattered dark robe of some kind, a spiked choker, a black domino mask across her eyes and her entire body was wrapped in bandages. However, the most eye catching thing about her appearance was the massive, clawed gauntlets she was wearing, each one tipped with barbed blades that looked more than sharp enough to rend flesh from bone.

"Huh…that was unexpected," said Vergil, "Um, do you mind taking this one?"

The bug user nodded as more insects began to crawl out of her costume and hair.

"Heh, I don't mind," said the newcomer, "Hell, its practically in the rules."

She lifted her claws and flexed her fingers.

"I'm 105, Haihane."

"Number 77, Entoma," said Entoma, "And these…"

There was the sound of metal crashing against metal and the bugs around her arms dispersed to reveal two very large bugs with gleaming metal claws clinging to her wrists.

"Are my Blade Bugs."

Haihane smirked.

"Well, this is going to be fun," she said and pounced.

"We should go," said Tattletale, glancing over at the windows, "The White Hats just arrived."

Vergil cleared his throat.

"You don't actually think…"

He was cut off as Trainwreck charged him and swung a massive fist at the black clad Cape. Surprisingly, he held his ground and blocked it with his sword, only being pushed back a short distance.

"Your fights with me brat," snarled the Tinker.

"Well, when you put it like that…" said Vergil, before he shoved Trainwreck back and swung his sword.

Trainwreck stumbled back slightly as a blast of force erupted from the swing, far more than should have been possible from the force of the swing.

"The hell?!" growled Trainwreck, "Your an Aerokinetic?"

"Hmm, maybe," said Vergil and stepped forwards with his sword leading in a thrust.

The tip slammed into Trainwrecks chest, sending him skidding back with the force of the wind blast that erupted, his metal feet tearing up the marble floor of the bank. Despite the force behind the attack, Trainwreck didn't seem to be hurt by it and raised an arm, releasing a blast of superheated steam at Vergil and forcing him to hop back out of range. The hulking Tinker took advantage of the lul to regain his balance and charge the swordsman, swinging his massive fists with impressive speed for his size.

Vergil ducked under the swings, slipping past the massive Tinker and jumping away, swinging his sword and sending another blast of wind at him that made him stumbled slightly. Trainwreck spun around, an ugly scowl on his face as he charged the smaller man again.

"Stand still!" he roared as he tried to hit the much more agile Cape.

"Now why would I want to do that?" asked Vergil as he jumped over a strike and landed lightly on the back of Trainwrecks hand.

Before Trainwreck could react to the sudden passenger, Vergil swung his sword at his shoulder and, with the sound of rending metal, the arm came away and a shallow gash appeared in the marble floor a short distance away.

"Hmm, need to practice that," muttered Vergil as he jumped off the disembodied arm as Trainwreck stumbled back, spitting curses as his suit leaked coolant and oil.

"You fucking BASTARD!" he roared, "Your DEAD!"

He raised his remaining arm and his hand folded away to reveal a rather large barrel. Before he could fire however, Haihane landed beside him and shoved the arm down.

"Sorry big guy, but you'll have to finish this later," she said, "The others are gone, so its time to leave."

"Wha...but…" started Trainwreck, before Haihane cut him off with a look.

"Unless you want to get picked up by the PRT, we're leaving," said Haihane, "Now."

Trainwrecks cheeks flushed, but he snapped an agreement, before glaring at Vergil.

"Next time brat, your dead!" he snarled, before another compartment opened and a massive cloud of smoke erupted.

"Hey, get back here!" shouted Entoma as she ran up beside her partner.

Vergil put a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him.

"No, let them go," he said, "No point in continuing this now."

* * *

Taylor gritted her teeth under her mask, but relaxed, allowing her Insect constructs to fade. She wasn't really pleased that Haihane had escaped, but she wasn't about to look the gift horse in the mouth. It had been obvious from the moment they'd crossed blades that the other Sekirei was much better at her in combat which, honestly wasn't that surprising. It was clear from her weapon of choice that Haihane was a Weapon Type and had likely been active for much longer than Taylor had, so she had more experience and was much better in close combat. If Haihane had not only been playing for time, the fight could have ended badly for Taylor.

She let out a huff and pushed the thoughts aside for now. She'd ask Miya for some training like Lucas later, but for now there were other things to worry about.

She turned to the crowd of hostages, her lips thinning slightly as she noted that it was a little smaller than it had been because the Undersiders had sent some out to act as distractions for the Wards.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Lucas, scanning the crowd.

There was a general murmur of agreement as the former hostagers started moving, the bank employees being the first as they were likely (unfortunately) used to being held up.

* * *

As the other hostages started pulling themselves together, Amy let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't there as Panacea, or perhaps it had been the debut of two obviously powerful Capes whos colour schemes didn't exactly scream hero, especially Entomas, but the whole fight had set her more on edge than normal and now it was over, she felt more than a little shaky. Probably due to the aforementioned breath holding, although it could have been the close call with Trainwreck that had done it. After all, it wasn't often that she was on the front lines of a fight or even put in a situation where she was likely to get confronted with another, hostile Cape.

The young healer was broken from her thoughts as a pair of boots stopped in front of her. She looked up and saw it was Vergil.

"Hey, you OK?" asked the swordsman.

"Y-yes, I'm fine," said Amy, "Thanks for the help."

Vergil tilted his head in a manner that emoted a smile.

"No problem," he said, "Besides, what kind of man would I be if I let a pretty girl get hurt on my watch?"

Amy's heart skipped a beat at that. It was the exact same line the mysterious boy from her dream had said. Whats more, now that she thought about it, Vergil's voice was nearly identical to Lucas', right down to the accent. But they couldn't be the same person, right? Lucas was a character created by her subconscious...right?

"Are you sure your OK?" asked Lu...Vergil, "You look a little pale."

"I-I'm fine," said Amy again, "Just shaken up I guess."

"Right, well, I suggest getting looked at by a paramedic just in case," said Vergil, "Need a hand?"

He offered a gloved hand and, after a moment's hesitation, Amy took it and let Vergil haul her to her feet. However, it seemed that she was a little more shaken than she thought because the moment she was on her feet, her head swam and she nearly collapsed, only to be caught by Vergil before she could fall, leaving her looking up at his green eyes visible between his hat and mask as she was pressed against his chest by his free arm around her waist. Despite herself, her face promptly turned bright red at the close contact, although a part of her mind was noting just how warm Vergil was and couldn't help but wonder what he looked like under the mask…

"HEY, GET YOUR HANDS OF MY SISTER!"

The familiar voice jolted Amy out of her musing, just in time to see a white blur shoot through the door towards Vergil.

* * *

Dinah Alcott was nearly in tears from a mix of pain from her pounding head brought on by her power, frustration, exhaustion and sheer terror. She'd been incredibly lucky to catch onto the fact that the men who had taken her out of her lesson with news that her Mother was in the hospital were actually there to kidnap her for whoever it was who had been stalking her since shortly after she'd Triggered and even more lucky to be able to make a break for it. Unfortunately, it seemed that the kidnappers weren't about to let up and were dogging her every step, no matter what she tried to lose them.

98% chance of capture.

70% chance of capture.

Dinah whimpered as she took the path with the lowest chance, but that didn't really help. Since the start of the chase, the numbers had been climbing steadily higher and even if they weren't, she wasn't sure how much longer she could run. She was reaching the end of her endurance and then the men would only have to pick her up and take her to whatever fate awaited her, the best of which was likely death.

2.78% chance of death.

Oh, well that was nice. She already knew that it likely wasn't to kill her, that was just the best case scenario. She might be young, but that didn't mean that she wasn't VERY well aware that there were things worse than death.

98.99% chance its worse than death.

Thank you power, you useless pain in the ass.

Dinah whimpered as her head throbbed even worse with the unwanted results as she came to another fork in the road. As much as her head hurt, to the point it felt like it was going to explode, she wasn't willing to just let them take her, so long as she could run, so she once again asked the question.

98.76% chance of capture.

For the left road.

0.34% chance of capture.

For the right. Dinah nearly tripped at the sudden massive drop in percentages, but managed to keep her feet and fling herself down the left path, the sudden surge in hope giving her a second wind. She stumbled down the road, her legs aching almost as much as her head as her lungs burnt, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and hoping that she reached whatever could help her before she collapsed.

She was so focused on running that she ran smack into someone and bounced off, ending up on her bum.

"My my, what have we here?" said a soft, feminine voice from above her.

Dinah forced her eyes open and let out a soft squeak as she immediately recognized the woman she'd ran into. Hard not to when she was one of the most infamous members of the Guild. From her black uniform and her silver hair, to the sword in her hand and the silver mask shaped like wings over her eyes, the Black Crow of the Guild was recognizable to anyone with even a passive interest in Cape culture.

Dinah swallowed. While the woman was technically on the side of good, calling her a Hero was pushing it and she was renowned for killing those who got on her bad side. Admittedly, that reputation was likely overblown, but Dinah still had to be sure.

0.02% chance that she will hurt you.

99.99% chance that she will save you.

Dinah let out a sound that was half whimper of agony and half sigh of relief at that as she collapse bonelessly at the Capes feet. She barely noticed Crow kneel down and put a cool hand on her head.

"Hmm, looks like a Thinker Headache," she said, "And you've been running for a while. Whats got you in this state child?"

Dinah opened her mouth, but all that came out was a strangled moan. The sound of footsteps made Dinah glance over her shoulder and she whimpered when she saw her would-be kidnappers round the corner and pause at the sight of the infamous Cape kneeling beside their target.

"Sorry to disturb you ma'am," said the apparent leader of the kidnappers, stepping forwards slightly, "But the we're Miss Alcotts bodyguards. The poor girls a little confused at the moment I'm afraid, so if we can take her, we'll get her home."

Dinah whimpered and clutched at Crows uniform, trying to make her understand.

The silver haired woman looked between the exhausted girl and the goons, before her expression darkened.

"Ah, so thats it," she said as she got to her feet.

"Ma'am?" asked the lead kidnapper as his men stepped back slightly, their hands moving to their weapons.

"Girl, I suggest that you look away," said Crow as she started to draw her sword, "I'll take out the trash.

Dinah quickly did as she was told, covering her ears as well for good measure, although that did nothing to keep her from hearing the screams and few gunshots the men got off. She didn't feel much sympathy for them though.

After a couple of minutes, she felt a hand on her back and looked up to see Crow once again kneeling beside her.

"Now that thats been dealt with, lets get you somewhere safe," she said, "Do you mind if I carry you?"

Dinah, utterly exhausted from her ordeal, could only shake her head as her aching body finally decided it had had enough and she slipped into darkness.

 **And done. Hoo boy, that fight in the middle was hard to pull off. I kept ending up with Lucas creaming the Undersiders, which I really didn't want to do just yet. Still, I think I managed well enough. Sorry I didn't include Taylor and Haihane's fight, but that was causing me even more problems and I decided to cut my losses.**

 **Alright, I admit I added Lucas' hat on a whim, mostly because I needed something else and I rather like the look. As for the rest of his gear, I hope my choices in Enchantment make sense. I took some suggestions and combined it with what I thought he needed. Oh, and in case you can't tell, the Enchantment on his sheath is a Wind one. I plan to leverage that quite a bit in the future.**

 **Yes, I did the bank robbery. Why? Because it was a good way to expose Lucas to both of his other planned Sekirei. And no, Haihane will not be one of them. Shes actually Grue's Sekirei.**

 **I actually plan for a few Sekirei to show up with the Villains because its unreasonable to believe that all 108 of them are good. There won't be many who are actually evil of course, but a couple are a definite possibility.**

 **My choice to have Lucas go by Vergil might be a tad on the nose, but its fitting. Why? Figure it out.**

 **The Undersiders escape went similar to canon and I dare say we'll find out more in the next chapter when Lucas and Taylor meet the rest of the Wards and we get a second bird to spread her Wings.**

 **I wasn't sure who I was going to have save Dinah, but I knew from the start it'd be a Sekirei. I considered Miya on her way back from shopping, Homura out as...Homura and even Tsukume, mostly so I could type her screaming 'Bringeth it!' at the top of her lungs, but I eventually decided to use Karasuba so I could have her meet Taylor and Lucas at the PRTHQ and freak everyone out with the revelation that the Black Crow has a Daughter.**

 **Final point, there are a couple of characters I'm not sure what to do with quite yet. The first is Madison. I know I want to redeem her, but I'm not sure if I should have her just Trigger, or if I should have her be a Sekirei as well. If the latter, I'm not sure who I should have be her Ashikabi, although I am tempted to use Lucas, just for the resulting fallout. I probably won't though.**

 **The other character is Greg. I know hes a bit of a joke, but I find myself unable to just make him completely useless. I'm considering making him an Ashikabi, possibly for Madison, but I'm also toying with the idea of using Musubi or Tsukume. Thoughts?**

 **And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!**

 **EDIT: changed Taylors Cape name to Entoma. Why? Because why not.**


	7. Chapter 7

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 7

"I said I was sorry!" said Victoria as she squirmed under her sisters glare as said sister carefully healed the shattered arm I'd ended up with at the hands of the overeager Brute.

"You shattered his ARM!" snapped Amy, "Frankly, you deserved to get swarmed."

"That and more," muttered Taylor from where she was glaring at Vicky, her swarm buzzing angrily around her.

Needless to say, my Sekirei had NOT taken kindly to the Collateral Damage Barbie shooting out of nowhere and busting my arm, so had conjured another swarm of massive bugs and fired them with the force of bullets directly into the blondes face. Fortunately, I had managed to stop Taylor before she pulled out the razor sharp centipede whip I was pretty sure she had hidden up her sleeve and try to shred the Brute because I had the distinct impression that that would go down badly.

Victoria flinched away from the buzzing swarm slightly and muttered something under her breath.

"Well what was I supposed to think?" asked Victoria, "You got taken hostage by Villians and I come in to find you being held by a creepy guy with a sword!"

"How am I creepy?" I asked as I flexed my newly healed arm, "Thanks Amy, that feels so much better."

"No problem," said the Healer, "Your own regeneration would likely have sorted it, but I doubt it'd be comfortable or short. Speaking of which…"

She prodded me in the chest.

"What exactly are your powers? I mean, you used wind to fight Trainwreck, your clearly stronger than a normal Human and I could see your body healing itself much faster than should be possible. Are you a Grab Bag?"

I snorted.

"Not exactly," I said, "My power isn't even close to being that simple."

"Whats that supposed to mean?" asked Victoria.

I smirked.

"That my dear, is a secret," I said, my grin widening slightly as Victoria's eye twitched, "I dare say you'll find out what I can do soon enough, but for now I'll keep it to myself."

A rather bubbly sounding throat being cleared behind me made me turn away from the reddening Glory Girl to see a rather tattered looking Aegis in Clockblockers costume stood there.

"Sorry for intruding, but I've spoken with Director Piggot about you," he croaked around the hole in his throat, "She told me to ask you two to come in for a debriefing."

I shrugged.

"I don't mind," I said, "I've got some business with the PRT anyway, so I might be able to get it out of the way today rather than in a couple of days. Do you mind Entoma?"

Taylor (and no, I don't know where the name came from, although it was certainly fitting) shrugged as her swarm thinned slightly.

"Sure, why not?" she said, "Although I still want to get something to eat later. That fight took a lot out of me and I'm starving."

"Fair enough," I said, before turning back to Aegis, "We'll be happy to come along."

Aegis nodded and indicated for us to follow him.

* * *

In his underground base, Thomas Calvert, better known as Coil, sat with his head in his hands while his second timeline was spent screaming in rage and slaughtering his way through his men to blow off the utter fury he felt towards both himself and that BITCH Crow. He'd been so damn sure his plan was perfect, that nothing could possibly go wrong, that he'd covered all possible factors that he'd got cocky. Instead of carefully maintaining a safe timeline like he would normally, he'd let the excitement at getting his hands on such a powerful Precog take control and used both timelines to drive the girl into a corner.

To make matters worse, if it had been anyone else the girl had run into, he might still have been able to get her, but the Black Crow was renowned for being as intelligent as she was ruthless and had seen right through his mens lies in one timeline and took them down as easily as she had in the one where he'd ordered them to attack. At least in that one, she hadn't killed them, although they were rather cut up and in custody. Fortunately, they knew better than to talk or he might be in trouble.

Coil took a deep breath and turned his attention to the other thing that had come up, namely the debut of two new Capes, Vergil and Entoma. They were clearly very powerful and rather skilled to be able to defeat the Undersiders, especially with the addition of Trainwreck and 104. He wasn't entirely sure what Vergils power was, but both were still exactly the sort of thing he wanted to get on his side. That said, it would probably be a good idea to test them first, just to make sure they were worth the effort.

He dropped his second Timeline and reached for the intercom on his desk.

"Toyotama, Ichiya, come in," he said.

The door opened and two women entered. The first was a tall woman with long, black hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue and white tight belly-top that showed off large stretches of skin, long dark gloves, stockings held by a garter over her bloomers and thigh length boots. She carried a long staff across her shoulders.

The other woman was unarmed, but equally well endowed. She was wearing what could generously be called an outfit, although it showed even more skin than her companions that was purple and yellow and held together with a ring just below her breasts. She wore long black thigh high boots and short black gloves. Her hair was black and cropped close to her skull.

"What do you need boss?" asked the woman with a staff.

Coil pushed the photo's of Vergil and Entoma across the desk.

"I have some new targets for you," he said, "I want to make sure their worth recruiting, so don't kill them outright. Give it a couple of days then hunt them down, draw them out and find out what they can do."

"Understood," said the other woman, picking up the photos.

Coil waved the two off and turned his attention back to his computer. He had plans to make and information to gather.

* * *

As we entered the PRT buildings lobby, I looked around with some interest. It looked mostly like I imagined, a bizarre mix of armed guards and colourful gift shop in the background with large, colourful posters of the Wards and Protectorate members in various poses around the room, although I noted with some satisfactions that Shadow Stalkers were nowhere to be seen. Not that surprising considering she was likely cooling her heels in a cell somewhere.

I returned my attention back to the lobby, specifically the woman stood in front of the desk waiting for the Wards who had to be Emily Piggot. The woman was an interesting sight because she didn't look anything like what I expected. Instead of an obese woman, she was still in excellent shape, although her legs were missing from the middle of her thigh, replaced by gleaming prosthetics that matched her eyes in both colour and warmth and Her hair was pale blonde and pulled up in a severe bun. She was wearing a smart looking navy jacket and shirt. All in all, a woman I had no intention of getting on the bad side of and not just because she was backed up by a Single Digit Sekirei and the entire ENE Proctorate.

At the sight of the rather battered looking Wards, the Director's lips thinned, thinning even more as she glanced in Taylor and I's direction. She didn't say anything though, instead turning and leading the way into a meeting room behind the front desk.

"Director Piggot, Ma'am," said Aegis.

"You look like hell," said Piggot, "Whats wrong with your voice?"

"Punctured lung, ma'am," rasped Aegis, "I think there's a hole in my front and back."

As if to demonstrate, he stuck his fingers into his chest cavity.

"Oh god, thats gross!" muttered Taylor.

"I really don't think that was necessary," said Piggot, "Now sit down and don't move. I'll deal with you in a moment."

The Wards did as they were told as the Director turned to me and Taylor. I met her eyes steady as she looked the two of us over with a practiced eye. After a moment, she seemed to find whatever it was she was looking for and nodded slightly.

"I understand that we have you to thank for preventing the Undersiders from succeeding in their attempt?" she asked.

"Yep," I said.

"I understand that two of the members stayed back to hold you off, but left when their teammates got away," said Piggot, "You let them get away. Why?"

"Because that would have likely ended with us having to fight the whole team at once," I said, "We're both relatively new at this, so I highly doubt we'd be able to take on six experienced Capes. I suppose we could have stopped them from escaping, but Entoma was having enough trouble holding off Haihane while she was playing for time. If she had no reason to hold back, I doubt my partner would have come out unharmed."

Taylor muttered something under her breath and a faint buzzing started coming from her hair, but she didn't argue.

"Besides, we had a hall full of hostages to deal with," I continued.

Piggot nodded, looking pleased.

"I think you did the right thing, the smart thing," she said, "Thats unfortunately rare among new Capes."

She huffed.

"We could use someone with your forthought on the Wards…"

"Sorry, but no," I said, "I have other plans."

Piggot sighed.

"Worth a try," she said, glancing at Taylor, "And I won't waste my breath asking you. To much baggage there to try."

Taylor just nodded. Yeah, while nowhere near as bad as some versions of her thanks to the PRT's quick response and lack of conflict drive, my Taylor still had a certain amount of dislike of the PRT and wouldn't be joining them anytime soon.

Piggot waved a hand and one of the troopers behind her stepped forwards.

"Please go with Sargent Jones here and we'll get your statements," said Piggot, "Then we can see about getting your powers tested Vergil. Since your here anyway, we might as well get that done."

I nodded and followed the trooper out of the room with Taylor as Piggot turned back to to the Wards, Vista and Clockblocker quickly moving to make it look like they hadn't been trying to eavesdrop.

* * *

Amy lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as her mind churned. There were many things to think about, but her mind kept coming back to the bank and Vergil. For some reason and against all logic, she was absolutely certain that under that mask was a boy she'd met in a dream. Exactly how that was possible she didn't know since, even in a world where her sister could bench press cement mixers and she could fix cancer with a touch, communicating through dreams was a bit much.

Then there was her bodies reaction to the Cape. It had been a long time since she'd felt anything but guilty attraction towards her sister, but even before that had started, she hadn't ever really been that interested in dating. Oh, she thought various people were attractive, on both sides of the gender gap, but she never really felt the need to date anyone. Everyone she met just seemed to lack...something, even Vicky, despite her attraction, which certainly didn't help with her confusion over the whole mess.

Vergil however seemed to have that missing something. Something about the black clad Swordsman was enough to get right past her normal lack of interest in anyone but Vicky and get her attention. It certainly helped that they seemed to have a similar sense of humour, dorky one liners and all, and, assuming he was actually Lucas from her dream (somehow) he was rather attractive. Plus, she'd got a good feel of his rock hard abs through his costume when he'd caught her and a good look at his body as a whole while healing him.

Amy's cheeks reddened at the memory of being held against Vergils chest as her imagination took that image and ran with it, her imaginary self slowly reaching up to pull down his mask and…

"Amy, phone call!" called Vicky as she opened the door.

"AHHHHH, I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING!" yelped Amy, jumping nearly a foot in the air at the sudden interruption of her fantasy, her face going fire engine red.

Vicky looked more than a little startled at the outburst and took a step back.

"Um, are you ok?" she asked, "You look a little red…"

"I-I'm fine, just...its nothing," said Amy, ruthlessly shoving down the images and her embarrassment, "Did you need something?"

Vicky stared at her for a moment, before her eyes widened and a knowing smile crossed her face.

"Oh, right, nothing of course," she said, although her tone indicated that she wasn't buying it, "Anyway, the PRT are on the phone."

"O-oh, right," said Amy, getting to her feet and brushing past her sister, doing her best to ignore the smirk the blonde was wearing and the heat still suffusing her cheeks.

* * *

I sighed deeply as I tried not to fidget while a young man in a white coat and spiky brown hair waved booping rods over me looking extremely intrigued while my sword received the same treatment by his older colleague.

"Fascinating, truly fascinating," muttered Dr Oak, the older man with my sword, "There's definitely some kind of energy here, but I can't find anything even close to it. Its definitely not anything I've ever seen."

"I've got the same readings," said the other man, who had introduced himself as Dr Oak as well, the other ones Grandson, "Whatever the energy is, your bodies producing and radiating it naturally."

"Is it dangerous?" asked Armsmaster, who was watching the power testing.

"No, not at all," said the older Oak, "It doesn't have any kind of similarity to any form of ionising radiation and I can't think of any way it could cause damage over long term exposure. Theres one more test I'd like to make to be sure, but I see no reason as to why we can't approve the use of his power in creating equipment for use in the PRT and beyond."

"Just one?" I asked plaintively.

I'd been down here for nearly two hours by this point and had been put through all kinds of tests to ensure that I didn't have any kind of native Brute, Mover or whatever rating, despite the fact I'd told them that the abilities in question came from my gear. Apparently it was standard practice, which didn't make me feel any better when I was shown the torture device they used to test Brute Ratings.

"Yes, just one," said the younger Oak, "Here, put some power into this."

He handed me a shiny ball with a lot of flashing lights on it. I took the ball and did as I was told, just wanting to get it over with.

SPRANG!

Dr Oak yelped and ducked as the ball exploded, sending bits of metal and electronics flying everywhere.

"Um, I take it that wasn't supposed to happen?" I asked as I brushed the remains of the device off my lap.

"Not exactly no," said Armsmaster, picking up a piece of the device, "I designed it to scan exotic energies produced by powers in order to make sure that they weren't dangerous. However, it looks like your power somehow removed the Miniaturization effect."

I blinked and took a second look at the parts.

"Huh, my powers gone to," I muttered, "Thats interesting…"

"We need to investigate this future," said older Oak, making me groan.

* * *

It took another half an hour before we finally finished the additional tests, during which time we discovered that my power did NOT play nice with Tinkertech. At best, whatever bit of Tech I enchanted just stopped working, at worse they literally fell apart. The two eggheads theorized that my power and whatever bullshit Tinkers did to their tech to let the components they used break physics were mutually exclusive, meaning that Enchanted Tinkertech was a pipe dream. Armsmaster couldn't even use anything I Enchanted to build anything, which seemed to annoy the Tinker.

Once we were done with that (and I'd Enchanted a length of pipe so that the power geeks could see if it interacted strangely with any other powers), I was finally free to go.

* * *

"Urrg, that was brutal!" I groaned as Taylor and I walked away from the PRT building, now back in civies, "Almost makes me wish I'd never thought of it."

"On the up side, its out of the way now," said Taylor, "Although I have to say, putting up with Clockblockers puns and come ons for two hours was starting to get annoying."

"Couldn't take the hint?" I asked.

"No, more like he didn't know when to stop," grumbled Taylor, "He stopped hitting on me after I demonstrated some of my...larger bugs, but that didn't stop the jokes…"

She shuddered.

"So many jokes…"

I snorted, earning a light swat around the back of the head.

"On the up side, I met Panacea," said Taylor.

"Didn't we meet her at the bank?" I asked.

"Yes, but we didn't really get a chance to talk," she said, "She seemed nice, if a little worn out."

I winced. I really needed to see if I could help with that somehow.

"She also seemed to be a little embarrassed about something," said Taylor, "I'm pretty sure she was blushing under her scarf and Glory Girl wouldn't stop smirking the whole time they were there."

"Glory Girl was there?" I asked, a little surprised.

Then again, without Tattletale to get through her barrier and hit the Dallon Sisters with the aborted knowledge bombs, I suppose there was nothing to stop the Alexandria Package from giving Panacea a lift. I did have to wonder what had amused the blonde Brute though.

"Yeah, I think she gave Panacea a lift," said Taylor, "Anyway, we're here."

I blinked and looked up. Sure enough, we'd come to a stop outside of a hole in the wall restaurant I immediately recognized by reputation.

"Fugly Bobs, really?" I asked.

"Sekirei need lots of protein and calories to operate," said Taylor, "We can't just pull energy out of thin air to power our abilities like you Parahumans."

"I highly doubt that grease and fat does anything to help," I said.

"Eh, I'll work it off later," said Taylor, "Come on, I want to see if I can finish the Challenger."

I snorted and followed my Sekirei into the restaurant. The odd thing was, I was pretty sure that she probably could. While I didn't know her from before she got Winged (obviously), in the time that I'd known Taylor she'd had an appetite to rivel Gokus, although with better table manners.

"Welcome to Fugly Bobs, home of the Ch...oh, its you two," said the waitress who met us at the door.

I blinked, then snapped my fingers as I quickly recognized her.

"Ah, your one of those girls who hang out with that loser Seo," I said, "Hikari, right?"

The Sekirei twitched violently at the mention of her Ashikabi.

"Thats right," she said through gritted teeth, "So, table for two?"

"Please," I said with a grin.

"How did you know that Seo's a bit of a loser?" asked Taylor as we took a seat at the booth and accepted the menus from Hikari, who also took our drinks orders.

"Lucky guess," I said, "That and the fact he showed up at Miya's the other day to bum food off her."

"I see," said Taylor, "Well, to be fair, your not entirely wrong. I'll take the Challenger."

"Chicken burger and fries please," I said.

"Your food will be right out," said Hikari.

She headed over to the kitchen window to give in our orders, before returning with the ordered drinks.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Taylor, "I mean, the public are aware of us now and you'll probably get your Rogue license in a few days, sooo…"

"Hnn, I guess that's up to you," I said, "Frankly, I'm fine with just creating my stuff to make money and respond where needed, although it would be a shame to not use the gear I made…"

Taylor took a sip of her drink, looking thoughtful.

"I think I'd like to make a difference," she said, "I've always wanted to be a hero and its not like the Protectorate doesn't need the help."

She scowled and punched her fist into her hand.

"Besides, I wanna fight Haihane again."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't take you for the type to hold a grudge after one fight."

"She was toying with me," said Taylor, "Playing for time. If she wanted to, she could have beaten me easy. I refuse to leave it like that!"

"Well, when you put it like that, sure why not?" I said, "Should be interesting if nothing else."

Taylor grinned.

"Here's to an interesting life," she said, offering her glass.

I snorted.

"I think you'll regret asking for that, but sure," I said, clinking my glass against hers.

* * *

Lisa Wilborne groaned as she dropped onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. She'd just got through being yelled at by Brian AND Coil for the fiasco at the Bank, which marked the first time that the team had failed a job. On the up side, everyone escaped without injury, other than damage to Trainwrecks mechsuit, and its not like she could have predicted two new Capes being in the Bank. She wasn't a Precog after all. That didn't mean the scoldings were any better though.

Speaking of the newcomers, there was something extremely odd about them. She'd got the same impression from Brians girlfriend and some of the Capes in Coils employ. It was an odd impression, almost like she recognized them, and her power tended to give her odd results that she wasn't sure what to make of, referring to them as numbers rather than providing names.

Then there was that odd exchange Haihane and Entoma had had before they fought. It was almost like a ritual, something that should have given her power plenty to work with, but it had just brushed off as nothing and had instead focused on the other oddity about the day. For some strange reason, her power had fixated on Vergil and given her a lot of information about him that was both relevant and reminded her more of what a lovesick little girl would say. Everything from his looks, to the fact he was ripped under that longcoat, to his obvious strength and even the size of his…

Lisa blushed brightly and shoved that particular thought aside.

"What is wrong with me?" she muttered as she turned over and curled up, "Normally I get all sorts of gross information from people I think are attractive, but this guy gets my power to act like a horny schoolgirl? What gives?"

Obviously, there was no answer and the extremely confused Thinker slowly slipped into sleep. A sleep that was full of dreams of the black clad Swordsman.

* * *

Two hours after entering the restaurant, we left with Taylor looking extremely satisfied and a brand new t-shirt and certificate tucked away in her bag.

"Man, that hit the spot," she said.

"I'm surprised you managed to finish it," I said, "Just looking at that monstrosity made me feel full. Hell, even Hikari and Hibiki looked surprised!"

"Eh, I'm just that awesome," said Taylor with a grin.

I snorted and patted my Sekirei on the shoulder.

"Sure, whatever," I said, "So, where to now?"

Taylor shrugged.

"How about we head back to Miya's?" she said, "I want to talk to her about some training."

"Sure, why not?" I said, "I could use a rest anyway."

We headed to the nearest bus stop and caught the bus to the North of the city where Izumo Inn was located. The trip back was uneventful and before long, we were back at the Inn.

"I'm home!" I called as we took our shoes off.

"Oh, there you are Lucas," said Miya as she stuck her head out of the living room, "We were worried after Tess told us about the bank robbery."

"Yeah, that wasn't fun," I said as Taylor and I headed into the living room, "Still, its done and my Power...testings...done..too…"

I trailed off as we entered the room and were met with the rather unexpected sight of an unfamiliar woman with silver hair sat at the table with a cup of tea in front of her and wearing an extremely familiar uniform, along with a small girl I didn't recognize who was chatting with Riley. Then, the woman turned and I had to resist the urge to step back when I recognized Karasuba. Hard not to recognize that smirk.

Then Taylor followed me into the room and paused.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" she said.

I whipped my head around to stare at my Sekirei, then looked back at the grinning Black Sekirei and paled. Something told me this conversation wasn't going to end well.

 **And done. This...was a bit of a pain. I originally planned to have Amy get Winged in this Chapter, but couldn't figure out a good way to do it. So, it'll be pushed back a little.**

 **Ohhh, looks like Coil might not be as easy to deal with as we thought. Hehehe, this is gonna be interesting to see the reactions.**

 **So, Piggot didn't get out of Elisburg completely in one piece, but instead of organ damage, she just lost her lower legs. I needed a reason that she'd be regulated to a desk job and that works fine.**

 **More of Amy being confused over her bodies Reaction to Lucas. Is it clear that I was watching Anime while writing that?**

 **Yes, the Drs Oak are based on Professor Oak and Gary from Pokemon. I just needed some throw away characters and couldn't think of two names that start with Q for the other joke I had in mind. I'll have him visit Q branch later.**

 **I'm...not entirely sure where Taylors sudden boost in appetite came from. Its not really for anything, it just kinda...happened. I think I did have a plan for it, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.**

 **I originally planned to use Rachel for Lucas' third Sekirei, but then a whole bunch of problems popped up that I couldn't figure out a way around and I reread Taylor Varga, so Lisa got the role instead. Unfortunately, I can't think of a good Norito for her, so suggestions are quite welcome.**

 **Next time, a rather tense conversation as Lucas tries to reconcile Karasuba the sadistic Sekirei with an overprotective Mother, while simultaneously attempting to get her approval. He might be almost glad for a Bakuda interrupt.**

 **Anyway, now thats done, I'm going to sign out. Until next time, don't forget to leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 8

The last few days had been hell for Madison Clements. What should have been a normal day at school had gone downhill rapidly when Taylor had shown just how good she was, leading to her being suspended, grounded and unable to look herself in the mirror after her Parents had sat her down and forced her to go over everything she had done to Taylor. Looking at it from the outside, without the lense of Emma and Sophia egging her one, it quickly became obvious that what she thought was just harmless fun, was exactly the same thing that she'd gone through in Middle School.

Being the smallest in the class, on top of needing large glasses and braces, meant that there were plenty of targets for the mean girls to target. They weren't anywhere near as bad as Sophia and Emma were towards Taylor, but it was still unpleasant. The idea that she'd done the same thing to another girl was...an extremely unpleasant one to say the least. The only upside to it all was that she wasn't being charged with anything, unlike Sophia (who was getting the book thrown at her thanks to being a complete psycho) and Emma (who had been ordered to receive psychiatric help), but the only reason for that was because she had rolled over on her 'friends' and told the authorities everything and the fact that her contribution to the...the bullying campaign had been petty pranks. Definitely unpleasant for Taylor, but nothing that the authorities were willing to waste time over when they had a Ward going off the reservation to deal with.

Under normal circumstances, the idea that she had been 'friends' with a Cape, especially one of the Wards, would have made Madisons day, but the fact that Sophia had tried to kill Taylor kinda soured that. Plus, she wasn't so naive as to believe that Sophia genuinely thought of her as more than a hanger on. Actually, now that she thought about it, it wasn't completely impossible that every one of her 'friends' were only friends with her to get an in with Emma and Sophia.

She snorted. Of course they were, they were social climbers, no different from the girls who'd mocked her in middle school. Chances were, once she got back to school, she'd be in Taylors shoes, at the bottom of the heap. She could deal with that, she'd done it before after all.

She groaned into her pillow and turned over. For a moment, she stared up at the ceiling, then held up a hand and watched as glowing water appeared out of thin air and swirled around her fingers. The one good thing about the whole debacle was that she now had the ability to at least try and earn forgiveness. She wasn't dumb enough to believe that Taylor would ever look at her as more than one of the girls who had made her life hell for her entire high school career up till this point, but she might eventually be able to look herself in the mirror. If not...well, at least she'd do some good.

* * *

Have you ever been in a situation so confusing that you just have no idea how to react? Well, I can safely say that it does an excellent job of getting rid of fight or flight instincts. Still, I'd like to see anyone else who knows anything about Sekirei react in any other way to finding themselves sitting at a table with Miya and Karasuba calmly drinking tea. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised, different worlds and all that. If Karasuba met her Ashikabi before she and Miya fell out, its likely that they never ended up coming to blows because of it.

On the other hand, she was still a member of the Discipline Squad and I'd done my research on them. Being one of the most effective anti-S-class groups out there meant that they were kinda famous, especially Yume (because horny teenage boys) and Karasuba, who was known for being extremely sadistic when she got her hands on some of the targets they hunted. She was the one who spared Jack Slashs life because, without the Nine and with non-Parahuman based superhumans running around, he wasn't that much of a threat. She did however take of his dominant hand. Then his left leg the next time he popped up. And an ear and an eye after that. By this point, the 'terrifying' Jack Slash was missing both legs, an arm, a good chunk of his internal organs, an eye and his manhood and was only alive thanks to some impressive Tinkertech work from Mannequin before he was killed. She'd also been the one to kill Heartbreaker, although that one was unplanned because the idiot decided he wanted her and tried to use his powers to seduce her, only to discover that Winged Sekirei are basically immune to Masters. What she had done to him had been deemed not safe for work and I decided that I wasn't curious enough to risk losing my lunch.

And now here I was, sitting at the same table with a woman who could easily take my head off, who's Daughter was my Sekirei and who had her sword within easy reach. I had no doubt that both Taylor and Miya would take great exception to her taking my head off (if only because she didn't want to have to get the blood out of the carpet in the latters case), but that didn't exactly make me feel any better.

"So, how did you two meet?" asked Karasuba.

I coughed.

"Taylor landed on my head after getting into a disagreement with Lung," I said.

There was a quiet crack and I cringed slightly as Karasuba slowly put down her teacup, which now had a large crack in it.

"I see," she said neutrally.

"I'm fine Mom," said Taylor, "Honestly, Lung came out of the fight worse."

"And that is the only reason why he still has his head," said Karasuba bluntly.

I shivered. Loving Mother or not, Karasuba was still a woman not to be underestimated and it was rather apparent that she was as protective of her Ashikabi and Daughter as any other Sekirei would be.

Silence fell as Karasuba drained her tea, before reaching under the table and throwing something at me. I caught it instinctively and saw it was my training sword.

"On your feet kid," said Karasuba as she stood and retrieved another wooden sword.

"Mom…"

"I want to make sure hes strong enough to look after himself," said Karasuba, "A Sekirei's weakest point its their Ashikabi and I don't want something to happen to you because he wasn't strong enough."

"Its fine Taylor, I don't mind," I said, "Besides, this could be fun."

Karasuba raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh, it'll be fun alright," she said and sauntered out of the room.

I shuddered and followed, inwardly wondering just where the confidence to say something that dumb had come from. I followed Karasuba out to the back of the house with Taylor following us, muttering something under her breath and glaring at her Mothers back. Karasuba came to a stop in the middle of the yard and turned to face me.

"Defend yourself," she said and vanished.

It was only thanks to the reflexes pounded into me by Miya that I managed to avoid a strike that would have likely knocked me unconscious. I spun around, my sword lashing out, but Karasuba was already gone. I gritted my teeth as I shifted into a defensive stance and pushed my senses the the max, ducking under another strike from Karasuba as I did. I wasn't dumb enough to think that I could actually beat the Number 4 Sekirei, even with my full gear and unsealing my sword, but I did want to land at least one hit on her. That would be enough to prove that I could take most anything the world threw at me. Unfortunately, that wasn't likely to happen considering I couldn't react anywhere near quickly enough to do more than dodge by a hair and I'm pretty sure that that was only because Karasuba was holding back. I was running on nothing but reflexes and that simply wasn't enough. I needed something else to balance the playing field…

 **[Sense Danger gained]**

Without thinking, I twisted, my wooden sword clacking against Karasuba's as she aimed another strike at my back. The Black Sekirei raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, thats interesting," she said, "You just got faster."

Then she vanished again, but I somehow knew that she was beside me, her sword aimed at my ribs. I twisted, letting the sword pass me as my own weapon arched out, aimed at her temple. Before it could get close though, her free hand blurred and she caught the wooden blade without any apparent effort.

"Not bad," she said, "But can you keep up?"

And with that, she blurred, throwing so many attacks at me so quickly it looked like there were hundreds of swords shooting directly at me. Despite that, I could still react and respond, deflecting those that needed and twisting around the rest. It wasn't perfect, I wasn't anywhere close to being as fast as her, but the few strikes I received were in places that, had she been using a real sword, would have caused minor injuries that wouldn't have inconvenienced me that much.

Despite myself, as I dodged and deflected more strikes, I found myself starting to grin. I wasn't sure how, but I was holding my own against one of the most infamous Sekirei in two worlds (three if you count my original). I doubted I could beat her if she was actually trying to kill me, but maybe I could…

My thoughts were cut of as Karasuba's smirk widened and her sword arm blurred again. This time, the speed was much, much greater than anything it had been till now and the tip of the wooden weapon slammed into my sternum with enough force to send me flying back. I slid to a stop, gasping for breath as my ribs throbbed.

"Fuck, you were holding back," I groaned.

"Of course I was," said Karasuba, "I didn't want to kill my Daughters Ashikabi after all."

She shifted her sword to her right hand and swung it at a nearby boulder that showed scars from past attacks. There was a loud crash and a huge crater appeared in the rocks side, throwing up a cloud of dust. I gulped. Note to self, don't do anything to upset Taylor. Ever. Her Dads scary enough, I do NOT want her Mother coming after me with blood in her eye.

"Are you OK Lucas?" asked Taylor as she helped me sit up, alternating between glaring at her Mother and checking me over worriedly.

"I'm fine, just winded and a little bruised," I said, "So, did I pass?"

Karasuba smirked and nodded.

"You did," she said, "Your more than capable of taking on most opponents you'll come up against, even without your powers. That said, I expect the two of you to be responsible. I dare say that Danny's already said this, but I really don't fancy being a Grandmother any time soon."

"MOM!" squeaked Taylor as both of our faces burnt.

Karasuba just burst out laughing.

* * *

The next day after lunch saw me laying back on my bed, deep in thought. Something had happened during my fight with Karasuba, something that I'm pretty sure wasn't possible. I hadn't really had time to think about it until now, but now that I was, I couldn't figure out what in the hell had happened. I know for a fact that I hadn't had a Second Trigger since I fail to see how a spider sense ripoff had anything to do with Enchantments and I hadn't accidentally created a new item out of the clothing I was wearing that wasn't Enchanted. Despite that, there was no doubt in my mind that I'd somehow developed a brand new power, something that should be impossible. Worm powers were set, they couldn't grow without a Second Trigger, only be improved by practice and the user becoming better at using them.

So the question was, where the hell did the extra ability come from? Was it possible that I wasn't a Parahuman? No, that wasn't likely, Amy would have picked up on a lack of Corona Pollentia and Gemma when she was healing me at the bank if that was the case. No, it was something else, something that almost seemed to be on the tip of my tongue, but…

"Lucas, are you busy?"

Miya's voice from the door made me sit up.

"No, whats up?" I asked.

"I need someone to go get some things from the store," she said, "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," I said, "Let me grab my coat."

I quickly did just that and met Miya by the door where she handed me a list, a shopping bag and a few notes before shooing me out the door. I made my way in the direction of the nearest supermarket, scanning the list as I did. It wouldn't take long to get all this and I could use the distraction. I was starting to get a headache trying to figure out where the new power had come from.

* * *

"Lets see, got the chicken, green beans and radish, just need...chocolate," I muttered as I made my way through the store.

I made my way over to the confectionery aisle near the front of the store and promptly walked into someone coming the other way. My hand snapped out and caught the girl before she could fall.

"Sorry about that," I said as I set her back on her feet, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm…" the girl cut herself up as she looked up at me and her eyes went wide.

I wasn't much better as I immediately recognized Amy Dallon. What were the chances that I'd meet her here? That said, it was more surprising that she seemed to recognize me, despite the fact I hadn't touched her skin. Plus, she'd know better than to react to another Cape since that was a good way of pissing people of, world's strongest Healer or not.

"Y-you...no, thats not possible," she muttered.

"Whats not possible?" I asked.

"I...its nothing," she said, "You just...looked familiar."

I frowned. She was lying, I could tell. I opened my mouth to question her further, but before I could, my new danger sense pinged. My head snapped around, just in time to see a rather ragged looking Chinese man with a tear stained face and shaved head stumble into the parking lot. It took less than a second for me to figure out what that meant and, without a second thought, I grabbed Amy and yanked her behind a shelf, charging it with as much energy as I could to give it Immutability and summoned my costume, activating the shield belt for good measure. An instant later, a monstrous explosion erupted from outside, completely destroying the front of the shop. Even with three levels of defence, the sheer force behind the blast was still enough to nearly burst my eardrums and I was forced to hunch my head down the contents of the shelf rained down on me.

After what felt like an eternity, the ground finally stopped shaking as the shockwaves from the blast dissipated. I took a deep breath as I slowly uncurled and deactivated my belt.

"Are you OK?" I asked the girl in my arms.

Amy nodded slowly as she stared up at me with wide eyes. I ignored the Healer for now as I got to my feet and looked around.

As you can probably imagine from one of Bakuda's bombs, even a traditional one, the devastation was immense. The entire store was decimated, with the only shelf standing being the one I'd Enchanted and a few that were protected somewhat by said protected shelf. The rest had been sent flying or were shattered. The front of the building was simply gone, leaving a gaping hole that looked out onto a parking lot that was now nothing more than a huge crater and some cracked asphalt. Fortunately, the front of the shop had managed to prevent most of the blast from getting inside, so other than the shelves being tossed around and any glass shattered, there wasn't that much damage. However, that didn't mean that there were a large number of injured people.

I glanced back outside and winced. Unfortunately, anyone who was outside was likely dead, as vaporized in the blast, proven by the blast shadows on the floor and few remaining walls, or pulped by the shockwave. I scowled under my mask. Bakuda will pay for this.

I quickly shook off that thought for now though and turned back to Amy, who still looked rather shocked.

"You...you were at the Bank," she said, "Vergil right?"

"Thats right," I said.

"How did you…"

"I have a danger sense," I said, "Look, we can talk later, but for now we need to help the people who need it. Can you walk?"

Amy blinked and shook her head, before smacking her cheeks.

"Pull it together Amy," she muttered, before getting to her feet, "Yes, thank you for saving me."

I smiled and nodded.

"Not a problem Panacea," I said, tipping my hat, "Come on, lets get started."

Panacea nodded and immediately headed to the closest injured person while I moved away to start seeing if I could find anyone trapped in the rubble. I could probably create something that would heal, but I was a relative unknown and I didn't fancy wasting time when I could be helping people.

* * *

It took 15 minutes for emergency services to arrive, during which time there had been another seven blasts from various points in the city. I'd managed to save a total of ten people who had been buried and helped another 15 who had been trapped by falling shelves. Once I was done with that, I'd moved onto helping those I could with first aid while Panacea had fixed those who desperately needed it.

"Nice work kid," said one of the paramedics as he and his colleagues quickly moved between the injured civilians, checking them over for anything that Panacea hadn't been able to heal.

There were a few people who had banged their heads and she couldn't do much for shock unfortunately.

"Whats going on?" I asked.

The paramedic scowled.

"We're not sure who, but someone's been setting off bombs all over the city," he said, "Fortunately, most have been fairly vanilla, if powerful, but there are a few that have been...odd."

"Tinker work?"

"Most likely."

I scowled as I looked around.

"What should I do?" I asked.

"Anything you can," said the Paramedic, "Panacea is heading to the hospital, but the best you can do is help where you can. Unless you can heal?"

I hesitated.

"I...I can create items that can help," I said, "But I only debuted today, so I didn't want to start using my power on people…"

"Kid, I don't care if you debuted thirty seconds ago," said the Paramedic, "If you can help, go do it!"

I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright, I planned to offer my creations to the hospitals anyway," I said, "Thanks Mr…"

"Clements, now go help people hero," said the Paramedic, before turning to his colleagues and shouting some orders.

I ignored him as I ran over to the van where Panacea was climbing into the back.

"Hold up, I'm coming too!" I shouted.

"Need something kid?" asked the driver.

"My power lets me create items with powers of their own," I said bluntly, "I can create some things that will help the injured recover quicker and possibly keep those in critical condition alive long enough for Panacea to heal them."

The man frowned.

"I went through power testing earlier today," I said before he could say anything, "My powers have been cleared and confirmed that they don't have any negative effects. Right now, we need every bit of help we can get."

The driver scowled.

"Damn, I really hate that your right," he growled, "Alright, get in."

I nodded and hopped in the back beside Panacea., who looked rather pale and had her eyes closed. A moment later, the doors shut and the van took off in the direction of the hospital as I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to both Miya and Taylor to let them know what had happened and where I was going. It wouldn't do for them to worry unduly after all.

* * *

Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside Brockton General and Panacea went pelting into the building to get started while I was stopped by an elderly looking doctor who looked oddly familiar.

"Your Vergil, correct?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Thats right," I said, "I can…"

"I know, the PRT sent me your file," he said, "Can you create something that can heal?"

I nodded.

"Yes, not as well as Panacea, but it'll keep people alive."

The doctor nodded.

"Alright, what do you need?"

"Some jugs of water and boxes of bandages," I said.

The doctor nodded again and shouted at a nearby ordily to get them. A few minutes later, the man returned and I set to work.

"The jugs will give any water put in them healing properties," I said as I worked, "Drinking it or placing it directly on the injury will help the body speed up its healing. The bandages will do the same."

* * *

It didn't take me long to finish the Enchantments and when I was done, I was drafted into helping the doctors where I could. My first aid training wasn't exactly training so much as using my teaching Enchantments to help me pick up helpful tricks from internet videos, but there were so many injured coming in that the Chief pretty much told me to help where I could while the actually trained people dealt with the really bad cases.

The next few hours...weren't pleasant. I won't go into detail, but I quickly became glad that I wasn't squeamish. Between the horrific burns, flowing blood and other bodily fluids, it made me very, very glad that I never became a doctor back home. Even with my mask filtering out most of the smells, it was still bad enough to force me to stop and puke a couple of times.

Fortunately, it seemed that Bakuda had been relatively light on the exotic bombs...or everyone caught in them didn't need a hospital. Not sure what was worse. Whatever the case, the entire debacle did little to dispel the rising rage I felt towards the Bomb Tinker. Every screaming child, every covered body in the halls, every teenager sitting unresponsive with burnt stumps where their limbs should be made me more and more determined to make Bakuda the first person to experience being hit by my unsealed sword.

* * *

Finally, the last of the people injured by Bakuda's bombs were in a decent enough condition that they weren't likely to snuff it, allowing me to drop into a chair with a groan of pain.

"I swear, I am never doing this again," I muttered.

"Yes, this isn't a job for the faint hearted," said the head doctor as he walked up and handed me a glass of faintly glowing water, "Still, you did well and I appreciate the help."

"Its a Heroes job to help people, whether that means kicking ass or helping put others back together," I said as I downed the glass, ignoring the brief flair of greenish blue light as the healing liquid did its job and washed away some of my fatigue.

"Perhaps, but you still deserve thanks," said the doctor, "Many people here would have died if you hadn't been here."

I winced and looked away. Despite my creations, a lot of people had died from their injuries and that stung.

"Don't feel bad about not being able to save everyone," said the doctor, "I and my staff are good and Panacea is a godsend, but even so, people still die. Thats simply a fact of life."

"Even so, its not right," I growled as I watched some orderlies wheel a heart wrenchingly small body bag out, "People shouldnt have to live in fear of some random crazy developing powers and going on the rampage…"

"Perhaps not, but such is the world we live in," he said, "Now, I suggest you go home and get some sleep."

I sighed and nodded.

"I think I will," I said, getting to my feet.

"Oh, before you do, do you mind taking Miss Dallon home?" asked the doctor, "Normally, we'd call her sister, but shes busy helping deal with the aftermath of the bombs."

"Alright, do you know where she is?" I asked.

"I believe she was taking a rest in the staffroom," said the doctor, "Down the hall and to the left."

I nodded and said goodbye, before heading of in the indicated direction. It didn't take long to locate the door and I stepped inside. It wasn't really much to look at, just a sitting area with a few vending machines, a kitchen area, a small TV and a couple of doors that led into the men and womens changing areas and showers. I sighed softly when I saw Amy curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, still in her costume she apparently kept at the hospital.

The young healer looked dreadful, her hair in disarray, her face drawn and pale and dark circles around her eyes. I have no idea if her powers sapped her stamina or not, but she certainly didn't look that bad earlier. Or maybe she had, I didn't exactly get chance to get a good look at her before everything went to shit.

"God, she needs some help," I sighed as I padded up to her and gently shook her shoulder, "Hey Amy, wake up."

The Biokinetic stired and moaned, her eyes flickering open.

"Murr, go 'way Lucas," she moaned.

I froze. How did she…? I quickly shook that question off. I could ask her how she knew my name later, for now, she needed to get some rest in a proper bed and food in her.

"Come on Amy, its time to go home," I said, shaking her again.

Amy groaned again and seemed to wake up properly, sitting up and stretching with a yawn.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"About 6 o'clock," I said, "Dr…"

I frowned as I realized I hadn't got the name off the Chief of Medicine.

"The boss asked me to take you home," I said instead, "Are you ready?"

Amy flinched and looked away.

"I guess," she muttered.

I frowned.

"Whats up?" I asked, "Did something happen?"

Amy squirmed for a moment, before she sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"I kinda had a falling out with Carol and Vicky," she said, not meeting my eyes.

"Ah, I see," I said, although exactly how she could have a falling out with Glory Girl when she was getting whammed by her Aura I don't know, "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," said Amy.

She sighed.

"Look, I appreciate you offering, but I think it'd be best if I make my own way home," she said, "Things are tense enough at home right now without showing up with an unknown boy."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Amy nodded and moved to get up. However, the moment she tried, her legs gave way and she would have cracked her head on the table if I hadn't caught her.

"Ah, crap, not again," she muttered.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"I...not really," she said, looking down with red cheeks, "I can't feel my legs. I...think I'm going to have to take you up on that offer of a lift."

I sighed and put her back on the sofa, before turning around and crouching down.

"Alright, hop on," I said.

I could practically feel the blush on Amy's face as she climbed onto my back and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Thanks for this," she muttered as I stood and shifted her weight.

"No problem," I said, "You'll have to give me some directions though."

Amy nodded against my back as I moved over to the window and slid it open.

"Wait, what are you doing?" asked Amy.

I glanced back at her and grinned.

"This is faster than catching the bus or a cap," I said.

"Wait, you can fly to?"

My grin widened.

"Nope."

Amy blinked, right before I jumped out the window. Gravity quickly shifted itself for a moment so I landed on the wall, before I pushed off it and shot across the street, briefly landing on top of a telephone pole as I did, Amy's yelp of shock ringing in my ears as I landed lightly on the gravel roof.

"You OK?" I asked.

"Warn me next time!" snapped Amy.

I chuckled lowly and nodded, before taking off across the rooftops.

* * *

Despite the speed and initial surprise, Amy quickly found herself relaxing against Vergils surprisingly comfortable back. Despite the horrific day and the fact she really wasn't looking forwards to getting home and dealing with the fallout of the fight she'd had with her sister and 'Mother', being around the black clad Cape was surprisingly relaxing. Especially when you consider that she'd known him for less than a day.

Normally, trusting someone that quickly, especially a known Cape, would set of her Master/Stranger alarms, but for some reason, she didn't get that feeling. Plus, he had saved her life twice, first at the Bank and then from the bomb that had started the entire mess, even putting his identity at risk to do so considering he wasn't in costume at the time, although she wasn't entirely sure how he'd switched to it so quickly. Something to ask him at a later date she supposed.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" said Vergil, drawing from her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know my name?"

Amy pushed herself up and gave the back of the other Capes head a strange look.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You called me Lucas back at the hospital," said Vergil, "How did you know that was my real name?"

Amy opened her mouth to respond, but stopped and frowned. Strange as it was, she DID know the other teens name.

"I...think I learnt it in a dream," she said with a frown, "But how is that…"

She trailed off as Lucas suddenly came to a stop.

"Is...something wrong?" she asked.

"A dream?" he asked.

"Yeassss," said Amy slowly, "I know it sounds weird, but I'm pretty sure I met you in a dream."

She snorted.

"Well, a nightmare really. You actually saved me from the monster…"

She yelped as Lucas suddenly dropped her, although her legs had fortunately recovered enough that she didn't end up on her ass.

"Hey, what was that for?!" she demanded.

Lucas ignored her as he started pacing, pulling down his mask as he did, revealing a very familiar face that, now she had chance to get a good look at him, she realized was the same as the boy in her dream. She frowned as Lucas started muttering under his breath, running his hands through his hair and looking rather distressed.

"Lucas, whats...WHOA!"

She went to stop Lucas, only to find that her legs weren't quite as recovered as she had thought and she lost her balance. Before she could faceplant the roof, a pair of arms wrapped around her and she found herself resting against Vergil's chest, staring up into his gray eyes. At the same time, her heartbeat sped up and she felt an intense heat flood her body, unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Her thoughts fogged as her breath sped up and she found herself focusing on Lucas' lips.

"Aww crap," muttered Lucas, right before Amys resistance crumbled and she pulled his head down to kiss him.

The moment her lips came into contact with Lucas', Amy's entire body lit up like a christmas tree. She broke away from Lucas and arched her back as a huge rush of energy surged through her, washing away the aches and pains that came from a long day at the hospital and the lingering headache and nausea that had been plaguing her since the Bank, before gathering between her shoulder blades and bursting out, forming a massive pair of leaf green wings.

* * *

Across town, a tired Taylor, fresh back home from helping her Parents sort out the chaos at the Docks from the bomb that had gone off at the DWA facility, suddenly jolted upright as she felt her Sekirei symbol burn.

"Something wrong Taylor?" asked her dad.

Taylor frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"For some reason, I feel like a rival just appeared," she said.

Karasuba blinked, then a look of realization crossed her face and she burst out laughing.

 **And done. Well, that was...interesting. To be honest, Amy's Winging was being a right pain in the arse. I wanted to do it in this chapter, but every time I tried, something got in the way. Oh well, its done now. Onto the quips!**

 **I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with Madison, but shes now tentatively down as Lucas' last Sekirei. I might change my mind later though.**

 **Oh my, just what does this new power mean for Lucas? Its times like this I wish FFN supported different colours… to be clear, anything in square brackets isn't actually audible to anyone...yet. Incidentally, if anyone can guess just what I plan for this, I'll be genuinely surprised...or maybe not. Either way, I have a lot planned that will likely be quite surprising and earn me some backlash.**

 **If your wondering why Amy forgot that she recognized Lucas back at the shop, she's been caught up in a bomb blast and spent hours trying to keep what seemed like half the city from dying, I think she can be forgiven for forgetting.**

 **Incidentally, I utterly suck at figuring out timeframes for events. This was originally all on the same day as the Bank, but that...wouldn't really have worked.**

 **And with that, I'm done. I honestly don't have very much to say here and I really need to go to bed, so I'll sign off. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

Victoria Dallon was worried. It wasn't an emotion that many people would expect the normally bubbly blond to be to familiar with, but those same people tended to forget that, while she was invulnerable, those around her were not. As such, she was understandably concerned when she arrived home from a long day of helping the PRT clean up after the bombings of the day to find that her Sister was nowhere to be seen, especially after the fight the sisters had had that morning.

While the Dallon sisters were no stranger to arguing, like all siblings adopted or otherwise, the one that morning had been different. Technically speaking, it hadn't been a fight at all, Vicky just pushed a little to far in teasing her sister over the obvious crush she had on someone while trying to weedle out the identity of said someone and the other girl had ended up storming off in a huff and avoiding her all day. Vicky had intended to apologize after giving Amy some time to cool off, but the bombings kinda put that idea on hold.

Truth be told, Vicky was getting worried about her sister. Despite her reputation for collateral damage, she was neither stupid nor blind. She knew her sister was under a lot of stress from...just about everyone thanks to her reputation as the Worlds Greatest Healer, a stress that she was unfortunately responsible for adding to when she went overboard taking down a criminal. However, lately she'd been even worse than normal, to the point that she'd looked genuinely ill and seemed to suffer from a lot of headaches. If it wasn't for the fact that Amy's powers made her basically immune to disease, she'd almost say that Amy was coming down with something.

With that in mind, she made the decision to sit Amy down once they both got home and have a long talk. Unfortunately…

"What do you mean shes not home yet?" asked Vicky, "Its getting dark out!"

"Shes probably still at the hospital," said Carol, "Considering the mess the bombings caused, theres probably a lot of people needing healing."

"But…"

"Victoria, Amy is a big girl, she can take care of herself," said Carol, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."

Carol turned back to her desk, leaving her Daughter to head back to her room in a bit of a daze. She dropped down on her bed and pulled out her phone, scrolling down to Amy's number. For a moment, her thumb hovered over the call button before she sighed and dropped her arm. It was late, but her Mother had a point. Considering the sheer number of bombs that went off, it was possible that Amy was still working and she really didn't want to distract her sister if that was the case. Still, Vicky couldn't shake of her worry and wanted to be sure.

She sighed and picked up her phone again, this time bringing up an App that only Protectorate affiliate Capes could get. It was a tracking app, designed to allow teams to keep track of their members in the event that they went missing. It was for emergencies only and Vicky knew that Amy wouldn't be best pleased if she found out that Vicky used it, but sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

She scrolled down to her sisters name on the list and, after another moment's hesitation, hit it. There was a moment's pause with a loading graphic, before a map of the city popped up, showing Panacea's crest moving across the city. Unfortunately, it was moving much faster than any car could possibly go in the city and in the opposite direction of the Dallon house across the rooftops in the direction of the northern parts of the docks. In short, a place where Amy had no business being.

Vicky scowled and jumped to her feet, snatching up her discarded costume and slipping it on with practised ease. Something was going on with Amy and she fully intended to find out what.

* * *

"So, where are we going?" asked Amy as I vaulted over an airconditioning unit and zipped across a set of phone lines.

"To talk to someone who knows a lot more about this stuff than me," I said, "Believe me, you'll need it. I can explain the basics, but you'll need an expert to fill you in on what it means to be a Sekirei."

"Whats a Sekirei?" asked Amy.

I hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. Might as well get some of the details out of the way now.

"Technically, its the name of the Japanese Wagtail," I said, "But its also the name for 108 superpowered beings scattered throughout the country."

"A team of Parahumans?" asked Amy.

"Not really," I said, "While they do have powers, they can't really be called Parahumans because they...aren't. They don't have Corona Pollentia. They also have different ways of activating their powers, although they can undergo something similar to a Trigger Event that gives them partial access to their powers."

"Hmm, and how do you know I'm one of these...Sekirei?" asked Amy.

"Because all Sekirei have a partner who can draw out their full power," I said, "The kiss and lightshow back there was the two of us undergoing that process."

I winced again as Amys grip tightened again.

"So what then, your my Master or something?" she asked, her voice tight.

I nearly tripped, but managed to keep my balance.

"Only if you're into that sort of thing," I said with a grin over my shoulder.

Amy's glare saw that grin die a quick death however and I rushed to reassure her before she turned me into a tree.

"Thats not how it works," I said, "The bond between a Sekirei and an Ashikabi is a partnership. While it is true that many pairs are romantically involved, that's not a requirement. I know a duo who have a sibling bond, although that is mostly because Riley's nine. However, the closer the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi is, the stronger the Sekirei's powers are and the bond helps to encourage positive feelings."

"You mean we're being Mastered," said Amy.

I snorted.

"Not exactly," I said, "Or at least, no more than a regular Parahuman is. No, you wouldn't have Reacted to me if we weren't compatible."

I pulled a face.

"Unfortunately, that will likely be the least of our worries," I muttered, "I'm not looking forwards to seeing how Taylor reacts to this."

"Whos Taylor?" asked Amy.

"My other Sekirei."

Before Amy could respond, I jumped off the roof and landed in the backyard of Izumo Inn where a vaguely amused looking Miya was waiting.

"Something to tell us Lucas?" she asked.

"Yeah yeah, hilarious," I grumbled as I let Amy down off my back, "Do me a favour and fill her in while I go take a shower. I stink."

"That you do," said Miya, before turning to Amy, "Hello dear, I'm Miya Asama…"

Her voice was cut off as I shut the door behind me and headed for the bathroom, stripping off my costume as I went.

"You know thats terrible for keeping your secret identity, right?" asked Uzume.

"Aww stuff it, its not like everyone here doesn't already know," I said, "Besides, leaving that creepy mask on the coffee table is even worse."

"Touche," said the Veiled Sekirei as I shut the bathroom door and finished stripping before hopping into the shower with a sigh of relief.

* * *

Half an hour later, I emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist and headed for my room. Normally I'd have taken a change of clothes with me, but I was desperate to get the smell of death and blood off me and kinda forgot. Plus, my room was only a short distance down the hall, so its not that much of a problem. I ducked into my room and tossed my towel aside as I started getting dressed.

However, I only had enough time to pull on my underpants before a feeling of dread washed over me and the door slammed open, revealing a rather annoyed looking Taylor.

"LUCUS YOU HAD BE...tter…" she trailed off as she saw that I was almost naked.

For a brief moment, we stared at each other, before Taylors eyes darted down and a luminous blush that ran from the tips of her ears to below the neckline of her top appeared. She let out a startled squeak and went to slam the door, but before she could, someone shoved her into the room and shut the door behind her. I barely had time to brace myself before Taylor tripped on my discarded coat and landed in my arms. I could practically feel the heat radiating from her face against my skin.

"My how forward," I deadpanned.

Taylor let out another squeak and pushed herself away, her face burning, and turned around.

"P-put some clothes on!" she yelped.

I chuckled and did as I was told, before dropping into my desk chair as Taylor took a seat on my bed, looking everywhere but me and with a massive blush still on her cheeks.

"Now, before you start tearing strips off me, I'd like to say that I had no real intention of Winging another Sekirei and I certainly wasn't expecting to," I said, "I knew that it was theoretically possible, but with how Sekirei work in this world and the fact that there are only 108 of them in the entire country, I was almost certain that I wouldn't meet any Unwinged Sekirei outside of the Single Digits."

I sighed and rolled my chair forwards so I was sat right in front of Taylor. I could feel my Sekirei's worry and fear through our bond. While the last couple of days had done wonders to fix the battering the Trio had given her confidence over the years, helped along by said Trio getting arrested, but that didn't mean that she was completely without emotional scars, especially when you consider just how it all started and Emma's betrayal.

"Taylor, look at me," I said as I took her hands.

The Bug Sekirei shifted slightly, before slowly looking up and meeting my eyes, her own eyes shining slightly and holding a certain amount of hurt and fear that made my heart ache.

"I swear to you Taylor, I will never leave you," I said firmly, "Even without the bond, you are my best friend and I can honestly see that becoming more soon enough. Adding more Sekirei won't change that."

Taylor stared at me for a moment, searching my face for any hint of dishonesty, before she teared up and flung her arms around my neck.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" I asked as I hugged her back.

"You know perfectly well what," said Taylor, "I admit, I'm not totally pleased by this, but I can deal. Mom filled me in on the details after I sensed the new bond form."

She sighed and snuggled closer, now actually in my lap rather than just hugging me.

"How did it happen anyway?" she asked, "I thought you were helping at the Hospital."

"I was," I said, "I was taking Amy home when she accidentally revealed that she was unknowingly Reacting to me and, well, you know how that feels when it overwhelms you."

Taylor's cheeks pinked and she shivered slightly.

"Yeah…" she muttered, then blinked, "Wait, Amy? As in Amy Dallon?"

"Yep."

Taylor looked shocked.

"Panacea is a Sekirei?" she asked, "And now shes…"

She snorted.

"Good god, this won't go down well."

"Don't I know it," I grumbled, "I imagine we'll be getting a...visit from Glory Girl soon enough."

I sighed.

"Still, its probably a good thing in the long run."

"How so?" asked Taylor.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, there was a knock at the door, which opened to reveal Miya and a slightly pale Amy, who frowned at the sight of me with Taylor in my lap. I suppressed a sigh as my first Sekirei tightened her grip on me and made a mental note to nip any fighting at the bud.

"You three need to talk," said Miya, before gently pushing Amy inside and shutting the door.

For a moment, there was an awkward silence as Amy and Taylor stared at each other, before I sighed and prodded Taylor in the side.

"Let me up," I said.

Taylor pouted, but shifted to the bed. I stood, walked over to my second Sekirei (and wasn't that a strange thought) and wrapped her in a hug. She briefly stiffened, before relaxing.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Mostly," she muttered, "I mean, how am I supposed to take the fact I'm an alien and basically bound to someone I barely know and who has another girl?"

"Hey, I was here first!" said Taylor.

"Ah, no fighting ladies," I said before Amy could shoot back, "I don't think any of us are particularly happy with this situation, but we'll have to live with it. Plus…"

I sighed.

"This actually makes some of the plans I had much easier."

Amy jerked away from me and fixed me with a strange look.

"Plans?" she asked, "What plans?"

I sighed and let her go, before indicating for her to take a seat.

"Sit, I think your gonna need it," I said.

Amy did so, not taking her eyes off me as I started to pace.

"Alright, Taylor already knows most of this, but theres a bit more specifically about you," I said, "This is going to sound a little unbelievable, but you still need to know this."

I took a deep breath and launched into the story I'd told Taylor, although I intentionally left out all the details about Taylors...alternate? Original? Not sure what to call her. That wasn't relevant to Amy after all.

* * *

It took a few minutes to finish the basics, by which time Amy was gaping and had gone a bit of a funny colour.

"Thats...all a little hard to believe," she said slowly.

"I know, but you're aware that alternate worlds exist and that travel between them is possible," I pointed out, "From there, its just a hope, skip and jump to reach the conclusion that there exist worlds were this one is fictional. Quite how travel between worlds that far apart would be possible I don't know, but I'm living proof that it is, even if I don't know how."

Amy nodded slowly as she stared down at her lap, apparently thinking hard.

"Alright, so what plans were you talking about earlier?" she asked eventually, "And how does me being...your Sekirei help with that?"

I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"As I said, there weren't many people who came out of the story unscathed," I said, "Taylor ended up getting shot in the head after being turned into a barely controlled weapon to save the world. You...survived, but not without plenty of scars, physical and mental."

"What kind of scars?" asked Amy, now a little pale.

"The kind that resulted in you willingly walking into the Birdcage," I said bluntly.

Both Taylor and Amy gasped, with the latter going the colour of gone off milk.

"W-wha...how?!" she spluttered, "What could I possibly…"

She trailed off, looking like she really didn't want to know. I winced. This would be much worse than the talk with Taylor.

"Basically, you reached the end of your tether," I said, "In the original world, the Slaughterhouse Nine were a force to be feared. Without Sekirei, there were few people who were able to actually get close to Jack thanks to his powers, and they had the Siberian, Crawler and a Biotinker named Bonesaw, which certainly didn't help taking them down. They came here seeking possible recruits and you were one of them. They forced you to break a number of your self imposed rules, which, combined with the discovery of your Fathers identity, basically put you in a position where you had a breakdown and modified your Sister to reciprocate your feelings. It...didn't end well. She was also badly injured and you were in such a bad place that you completely messed up healing her, leaving her as a mass of flesh and bodyparts that could barely talk and was in constant pain. After that…"

"NO!"

Amy cut me off, now paper white and shaking. I winced. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have dumped all that at the same time.

"Amy…"

"No, your lying!" she shouted, jumping to her feet, "I couldn't...I wouldn't...no…"

She grabbed her head and stumbled away, tears running down her cheeks.

"Amy…" I tried again, standing and reaching for her.

"NO, DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed, backing up further as the floorboards suddenly erupted with branches that lashed out and curled protectively around her.

I quickly summoned my sword and sliced up the ones that came close to me and Taylor with a few wind blades. Then, I set the weapon aside and ducked through the tangle of branches to where Amy was curled up and shaking like a leaf. I crouched down next to her and pulled her into my arms, ignoring the startled gasp and brief struggle.

"I'm sorry Amy," I said as I stroked her hair, "I shouldn't have dropped all that on you at once."

Amy remained still for a moment, before her arms slowly came up to hug me back and I felt my shoulder start to get wet.

"How…"

"Hmm?"

"How can you be willing to come this close to me knowing what I'll do?" she whispered.

I snorted and pulled back so I could look her in the eye.

"Because I know you won't do it," I said.

"B-but you said…"

"Amy, it took being put through more pressure than most feel in a lifetime and being tortured by a group of lunatics hellbent on making you one of them to make you snap," I said as I brushed her tears away, "Regardless of what your Mother might believe, your a good person. I don't believe for a moment that you'd ever willingly harm someone without a damn good reason."

I glanced up as Taylor stepped through the branches and wrapped her own arms around Amy, making the Biokinetic squeak in surprise.

"I agree with Lucas," she said, "I can't say I particularly like this, but I'll deal with it. No one deserves to go through all that."

I grinned.

"Besides, you'll never be put into that situation here. Hell, even without me, you probably wouldn't."

"How can you be so sure?" muttered Amy.

"Because that crazy Biotinker I told you about lives down the hall and is only dangerous to people with a low tolerance for cute," I said.

"Wait, you mean RILEY is Bonesaw?!" asked Taylor, looking rather taken aback.

Amy blinked.

"Mrs Asama's Daughter?" she asked, "But…"

"Yeah, I was rather surprised to find that out as well," I said, "Now, can you do something about all this foliage? There are still some things we need to discuss."

Amy blinked and looked around, apparently noticing the plants for the first time.

"Huh...thats interesting," she said, "I didn't know I could do that…"

"Sekirei powers tend to be rather strong," I said, "The power you had before was only a small part of your full potential."

"Thats...worrying," said Amy.

She looked at the plants again and frowned, before closing her eyes. There was a beat, before the plants glowed and disappeared into a cloud of green sparks, leaving nothing but a few damaged floorboards as proof they existed. I stared at the disappearing lights, before looking down at my second Sekirei. That was...unexpected.

"Well that was...interesting," I said eventually, "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I," said Amy, before she took a deep breath and gently pushed Taylor and I away.

We let her go and stood, allowing her to stand. She accepted the offered tissue from Taylor, who's pulled it from the box on my bedside table, before we all returned to our seats.

"So, what other plans do you have?" asked Amy once we were all settled again.

"Pardon?"

"You implied that you had more plans than just to help us," she said.

"Ah, right," I said, "Well, their less plans and more 'what ifs'. I'm the sort of person who likes to consider what I'd do if I ended up in a fictional world, who I'd help, who I'd stop, that sort of thing. Idol musings when I was bored, I never really thought I'd need them."

"Who were you thinking?" asked Taylor.

"Well, you two obviously," I said, "Others included Canary, most of the Wards, the Undersiders…"

"Wait, you mean the Villains?" asked Amy, looking surprised.

"They're only Villains because they don't have much choice," I said, "Besides, their petty thieves, hardly worth stopping compared with the likes of Lung, Kaiser and Coil."

"Wait, Coil?" asked Amy, "I get the others, but isn't Coil a minor player?"

I scowled.

"HELLS no," I said, "In fact, he is the single most dangerous Villain in the city. Hes utterly amoral and willing to do anything to get what he wants. You know Dinah Alcott?"

"The girl who was nearly kidnapped?" asked Amy, "They Mayor's Niece?"

"That's her," I said, "She's a powerful Precog and Coil wanted her. If Karasuba hadn't saved her, she'd be locked up in one of Coils underground bases, drugged up to the eyeballs and answering questions for the lunatic. He has spys everywhere and considers the Unwritten Rules to be a handy shield while completely disregarding them. If you get in his way, he'll off you without a second thought. And he'd probably succeed to thanks to his power."

"What is his power?" asked Taylor, looking a little pale.

"Basically he can split time and run two timelines simultaneously," he said, "He uses it to make two decisions and pick the one he likes best. In short, he gives the order to go in one and holds back in the other. If his plan succeeds, great, if it doesn't, he just drops the timeline and trys again later."

"Thats…"

"Yeah, not good," I said, "Plus, as I said, hes utterly immoral, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he hasn't used his power for...other uses."

Taylor and Amy were both rather pale now.

"Anyway, that brings us to one of the other people I want to help, namely Tattletale," I said, "She might be a Villain, but shes only one because Coil literally recruited her at gunpoint."

I frowned.

"Speaking of Tattletale, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she ended up joining our little party," I said.

"What makes you think that?" asked Taylor.

I grinned.

"Because, out of everyone in Worm, the two most common best friends for Taylor Hebert are Amy Dallon and Lisa Wilborne," I said, "Probably because your all of a similar age and in dire need of some proper friends."

Both girls looked rather surprised.

"Really?" asked Taylor, "Huh…"

There was a moments silence as the girls absorbed what I'd told them, before Amy frowned.

"Wait, earlier you said something about my Father," she said.

I blinked. I'm surprised she noticed that considering the state she was in.

"I did," I said.

"You know who he is?"

"Yep. Do you want to know?"

Amy hesitated.

"Hes...hes a Villain, isn't he?" she asked.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Carol doesn't trust me," said Amy, "That much is clear. She's never come out and said it, but shes always kept me at arms length, especially after I Triggered. No matter how many people I help, shes always looked at me like she expects me to...I don't know, do something wrong or something. The only conclusion I can come to is that he was a Villain."

I nodded.

"That's about right," I said, "Your right, he is a Villain...kind of. I assume Miya filled you in on the whole test tube Alien thing?"

"Pretty much," said Amy, "Which makes the whole thing even more stupid. So who is he?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, my danger sense flared and I snatched up my sword and summoned a wall of wind, just in time for something very fast and white to hit the window sending glass everywhere.

 **And I feel incredibly bad for it, but I'm going to end it here. Next time, Vicky gets to learn that shes not the scariest beauty in town and why no one wants to get on Miya's bad side. I might do a PHO segment as well. Not sure yet.**

 **I...actually don't have much to say here. This chapter was mostly exposition and dealing with issues. Next time should have more action if nothing else.**

 **Until then, I'm actually going to sign of. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!**


	10. Chapter 10

Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

 **And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!**

Chapter 10

My wind barrier dispersed as a super strong fist slammed into it, sapping some of its momentum before it slammed into my sword, sending me flying back into and through the door and into the wall on the other side. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting, allowing me to react to the second attack and flip out of the way of the fist that shattered the hardwood window ledge. I winced. Miya was NOT going to be pleased about that.

I quickly pushed the worries about Miya aside for now however as my attacker turned and swung at me again. Her speed had nothing on Karasuba, so I was able to evade it and counter with a powerful swing backed up by a blast of high velocity air, sending her flying back down the hall. The lull in the action also served to allow me to properly register just who was attacking me.

"Wha...Glory Girl?!" I spluttered, "What are...WHOA!"

I ducked as the girl shot at me again and took a swing at my head hard enough that my jaw would probably have been shattered if it made contact.

"Wheres my sister bastard?!" she snarled as she took another swing at me, which I blocked, "I know shes here!"

"Yeah, shes…"

I was cut off as I felt Glory Girls Aura slam into me, making me take a step back. Surprisingly, it didn't actually affect me that much. I could feel it like a weight pressing down on me and there was definitely an increase in intimidation, but it didn't reduce me to a gibbering wreck, so that was nice. Still, I probably ought to stop her before she does anything to make Miya mad...er.

"Calm down Glory Girl!" I shouted, "Amy is…"

"Don't you tell me to calm down creep!" she snapped, "I don't know what you did to my Sister, but I'm gonna stop you!"

My eye twitched. She wasn't listening to me at all. I was starting to wonder if something other than just overprotectiveness and misunderstanding was at play here, but that could wait until after I stopped her from annoying the most dangerous woman in the country. I took a deep breath and focused, drawing more wind around my sword as my body instinctively shifted into a new stance. I ignored Glory Girl as she took off, shooting down the hall towards me as I felt my power twist inside me.

" **Martial Art: Ts…"**

I was cut off as a sensation of dread washed over me. The momentary distraction was enough for Victoria to close the distance and take a swing at me, forcing me to sidestep to avoid taking a bone breaking punch to the ribs. I turned to keep the girl in sight, only to freeze when I saw a vision of pure terror who had just appeared in the hall. Glory Girl stopped in mid air and spun, clearly intending to make another attack, but before she could, the gleaming blade of a sword appeared next to her left eye and a purple demon mask with blood leaking from the eyes appeared directly in front of her. She, quite reasonably, froze in complete horror.

"My my, this is quite the commotion," said Miya, her voice eerily calm, "Would one of you care to explain just what is going on?"

"Ahh, Glory Girl's apparently jumped to conclusions and apparently thought I'd kidnapped Amy or something," I said quickly.

I quickly regretted it as Miya turned her smile on me, although thankfully the mask remained focused on Glory Girl, who looked like she was going to pass out she was so pale.

"I see," said Miya, turning her attention back to Glory Girl, "Miss Dallon, you are aware that breaking and entering is a crime, correct?"

That seemed to snap Glory Girl out of her fear induced trance and she gritted her teeth.

"Who do you…"

She turned to punch Miya, but was cut off as the Number 1 flicked the New Wave Brute in the forehead and sent her flying down the hall with enough force to create a small windstorm. To my suprise, Victoria started getting to her feet, although she looked a little unsteady and had a red mark on her head where Miya had hit her. However, before she could do anything else stupid, the walls came alive and sprouted new branches that quickly wrapped around Victoria, blinding her in place.

"Vicky, thats enough!" shouted Amy as she stepped out from behind me.

Victoria immediately stopped struggling and stared at her sister, apparently rather surprised that she was here.

"Wha...Amy? But I thought…"

"What? That I'd been kidnapped or something?" growled my second Sekirei, "And you thought the best way to deal with that was to smash through the window of a private residence and punch the first person you saw? As opposed to, I don't know, CALLING ME FIRST?!"

She brandished her mobile under her sisters nose.

"But I…"

"We have code words and phrases for just that sort of situation!" shouted Amy, cutting across her sister, "Not only that, but you blew straight past me in your haste to attack Lucas!"

Victoria looked between her sister, a now slightly calmer Miya and me for a moment, before her gaze fell on my sword.

"Wait, I know you!" she gasped, "Your Vergil!"

"Lucas out of costume," I said.

She scowled.

"What have you done to my sister?" she growled, "Shes been acting weird ever since she met you!"

"Oh for...Lucas hasn't done anything but help me!" snarled Amy, "The reason I've been acting so strange is because of you and your Aura!"

There was a moments silence as everyone stared at the panting Healer.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I put it together from what Miya told me about Winged Sekirei being immune to Masters and the fact that I always felt like shit after exposure to Vicky's Aura," said Amy, "I didn't want to accept it, but now that my minds no longer under the effect of it, its a lot easier to see. I've been...addicted to it for the past two years and it was only when I started Reacting to you that I really started fighting it."

"Huh...glad to be of assistance I guess," I said.

"Not really, it hurt," grumbled Amy.

"Wait wait, hold up," said Victoria, "How can my Aura have done anything to you? Family members are immune!"

"Yes, _blood_ family members are immune," said Amy, "But in case you forgot, I'm NOT a blood family member. The only reason I ever seemed to have an immunity to it was because I was already completely pickled on it to the point that I thought I was in love with you!"

By the end of her rant, Amy was shouting, Glory Girl was pale and Miya was looking annoyed. The purple haired Sekirei quickly moved forwards and hugged Amy as the younger Sekirei burst into tears.

"Lucas, take Miss Dallon downstairs," she said, "I think we should discuss this now and clear the air."

She looked at Victoria and frowned.

"Miss Dallon, you need to learn control and quickly," she said, "I know of your reputation and I can see it was well earnt. You have no idea how to control your strength and sooner or later, that WILL get someone killed. Any one of those punches could have easily killed Lucas, had it hit him dead on and its apparent that your Aura is much more dangerous than was believed. I will be calling your Parents to tell them what happened here and requesting that they come and pick you up."

She swung her sword as she turned away and guided Amy in the direction of the bathroom with Taylor hurrying after them.

"Hey wait, are you just going to…" started Victoria, before her wooden bonds fell away, leaving surprisingly smooth cuts, "Wha…"

"And that is why you don't annoy the Hannya of the North," I said as I placed my sword back in my bedroom, "Come on."

"H-how did she do that?" asked Victoria as she followed me downstairs, "Some kind of wind power?"

"Nope, that was pure force," I said.

"Your joking."

"Not in the slightest," I said, "Miya is easily the strongest person in the City, if not the whole country, and I'm including the Triumvirate in that. She might act like a demure landlady, but shes the reason that the Gangs avoid the north."

I paused and looked back at Victoria, noting the look of disbelief on her face.

"Have you ever heard of Izanami?" I asked.

"You mean the woman who founded the Guild?" asked Vicky, "What about her?"

"She was named after Izanami no Mikoto, the Shinto Goddess of Creation and Death," I said, "And she was more than capable of living up to that name. She killed the Siberian, who was supposed to be completely invulnerable, and was the one primarily responsible for the destruction of Ellisburg. Shes been called a Human Endbringer and for bloody good reason. When she draws her sword with the intent to use it, its best to take cover and pray your not in the line of fire. Shes retired now of course, but her skills and power have not dulled in the slightest."

Victoria frowned.

"Whats she got to do with anything?" she asked.

I just pointed up the stairs. Victoria looked confused for a moment, before her eyes widened in shock.

"You mean…"

"Yep, Miya Asama is, or rather was, Izanami," I said, "In short, we're about to have tea with Cthulhu. Please don't do anything to piss her off."

Victoria gulped and nodded slowly as she followed me the rest of the way downstairs and into the sitting room where Riley was sat at the table with a large sketchbook she was scribbling in with her tongue sticking out her mouth. As we entered, the little blonde looked up and smiled.

"Hi Luke," she said.

"Sup shrimp," I said as I walked over and ruffled her hair.

She responded by pouting and elbowing me in the stomach. I just snickered.

"Do you know what made Mama have to go?" she asked.

"Yes, apparently Glory Girl found out Amy was here, jumped to conclusions again and decided to drop by to get her," I said, "Right through my window."

Riley blinked and looked over at where the older blonde was stood in the door.

"That was dumb," she said.

I snorted as Victoria went red.

"Nicely put Riley," said Kagari as he entered with a steaming cup in his hands, "You should listen to the kid Glory Girl, it'll keep you from getting into trouble."

He nodded to me and brushed past Glory Girl on his way back upstairs.

"What exactly is this place?" asked Victoria as she got her blush under control, "You don't look related."

"Its a boarding house," I said as I led the way through to the front room and dropped onto the sofa.

Victoria frowned.

"Why are you living here?" she asked, "You don't look older than me, so…"

I scowled.

"I don't have anywhere to go," I said.

Fortunately, Victoria apparently caught enough from my expression not to ask and simply sat down on the very edge of an armchairs seat as an awkward silence fell over the room.

* * *

Fortunately, we weren't waiting long. After about ten minutes, Miya came into the room, followed by Taylor and a slightly red eyed Amy.

"Your Parents are on their way," said Miya as Amy and Taylor joined me, the former not looking at her sister, "Your Mother didn't sound happy."

"Alright," said Victoria, looking a bit nervous, although whether that was because of the revelation of Miya's former identity or the idea of her Mother being angry with her I don't know.

"However, before they arrive, its important that the two of you clear the air about the issues caused by Miss Dallons Aura," said Miya, "While it is serious, it was also unintentional and unknown and it would be a shame to see the two of you grow apart because of it."

"I don't get it," said Victoria, "I've been through power testing and they said that the effects of my Aura faded relatively quickly. How could Amy have been affected that badly by it?"

"I can think of a few reasons," I said, "One, the testers were only exposed for a short time whereas Amy has been under near-constant exposure since you Triggered, two, they were adults and thus had fully developed brains while Amy was still young and developing and three, she already thought the world of you due to you being a genuinely good older sister. Combine all of those together and its not surprising she ended up addicted to it. I bet that the people you spend a lot of time with at school also exhibit mild symptoms as well."

Victoria went pale and swallowed.

"Your Aura is a powerful and useful tool," said Miya, "However, you NEED to be able to control it."

"I-I know that," said Victoria, "I've been told it over and over and I've tried, but its incredibly hard to keep it suppressed. I-I never realized it had lasting effects, so I...oh god!"

She bent forwards, vomited into the bucket that was handily provided by Miya and burst into tears. I nudged Amy and indicated to her sister. She glanced at me, before taking a deep breath and moving over to her sisters seat. Immediately, the blonde latched onto Amy and started sobbing apologies as Amy hugged her back.

Miya nodded, apparently pleased, and stood, indicating for Taylor and I to follow her out of the room.

"Let them have some time," she said quietly.

Taylor and I nodded as Miya cocked her head and frowned slightly.

"You kids go entertain yourselves," she said, "I think I've got a rather difficult conversation to have."

She headed for the door and opened it at the exact same time that the doorbell went, revealing a rather miffed looking Carol Dallon.

"Good evening Mrs Dallon, thank you for coming," said Miya.

"Where are Amy and my Daughter?" asked Carol shortly.

I frowned as I felt Taylor shift slightly beside me and a flair of surprised anger came across the bond. Yeah, she didn't miss the obvious dismissal of Amy as one of Carols children and, from the way Miya's fingers briefly tightened on the doorframe, neither did she.

"They are in the front room," said Miya, indicating to the door to said room, "However, before you…"

She was cut off as Carol rudely pushed past her and marched into the house, pushing past Taylor and I with barely a look as she shoved the door open and marched inside. Miya slowly shut the door and I could see that her shoulders were rather tight.

"Lucas, get Riley and take her upstairs," she said, "I have a feeling that this discussion may get violent and I don't want her to get caught in the crossfire."

I swallowed and nodded. Miya was angry and not the type of angry where she'd break out the Mask or even the anger that brought out the Number 1 Sekirei. No, this was the anger of a Mother who's child was placed in danger. Regardless of her joking comments about being more of an older sister, the fact remained that, as the Pillar, she had personally birthed every single one of the Sekirei. While she'd happily allow any one of her Little Birds to follow their own paths, regardless of whether that brought them into conflict, there were still things that brought her maternal side to the fore and I had no doubt that Carol Dallon was about to discover just how dangerous that could be.

I took a step to the side as Miya followed Carol into the front room, before sharing a worried glance with Taylor.

"I really hope this won't devolve into a fight," I said.

"Me to," said Taylor, "But just in case, lets go take cover."

I nodded and we headed to collect Riley to get her out of the potential line of fire.

* * *

Amy had just managed to get Vicky to stop crying, although the blonde was clearly still upset, when the door suddenly slammed open and Carol stormed in with a dark expression on her face which only darkened when she saw the state Vicky was in. Amy swallowed and braced herself. This would likely be rather unpleasant.

"What happened?" asked Carol, not even glancing at Amy as she crossed the room and looked Vicky over, "Are you hurt?"

Vicky shook her head as she dried her eyes with a tissue pulled from a box on the side.

"No, just…" she took a deep breath, "I had some rather uncomfortable truths thrown at me."

Carol frowned.

"What truths?" she asked.

Vicky took a deep breath and flinched.

"Apparently, my Auras addictive," she said, "Amy's been getting blasted with it for years and it...didn't do her any good."

"We don't know for sure if anyone else has been negatively affected by her Aura," said Amy, "It could have just been because of my close proximity and young age, but its still something that…"

"What kind of negative affects?" asked Carol, cutting her off.

Amy frowned slightly. This...probably wouldn't end well, but she wasn't about to lie.

"It basically made me love Vicky," she said, "Well, maybe loves the wrong word…"

She trailed off as Carols expression went from suppressed anger to surprised disgust, then flipped right back to anger as she looked over the sisters and the way Vicky was clinging to Amys side.

"What have you done?" hissed Carol.

"I...what?" she asked, "What do you…"

"I don't know what your thinking, but it stops now," snapped Carol, "The PRT…"

"The PRT were wrong!" snapped Vicky, suddenly shooting to her feet, "And Amy hasn't done anything but help me calm down! I happened to be a little upset that I've basically been...MASTERING my own sister for years!"

Carol stared at Vicky for a moment, before turning a glare on Amy.

"I see, so thats your plan," she hissed, "After all this time, after everything we've done for you,you've been working to turn my Daughter against me!"

The two younger Dallon women exchanged a look of confusion and dawning horror.

"No Mom, thats not…"

"Be quiet Victoria," snapped Carol, not taking her eyes of Amy, "I knew taking you in was a mistake! I hoped that I'd be wrong, but now I see that your Fathers influence is too strong…"

"ENOUGH!"

Miya had entered the room just in time to hear the last statement and even an idiot could see that she was pissed.

"Mrs Dallon, that was both uncalled for and completely unfair!" she said, her voice carefully level and cold as ice, "You know as well as anyone else that the entire idea of a 'bad seed' is utterly unsubstantiated and, more to the point, you should know that Amy is about as far from being a Villain as can be, regardless of who her father may or may not be. She is a kind, good hearted and strong girl who anyone would be proud to call their Daughter and who you are happy to toss aside, simply because of who raised her for the first few years of her life. Shame on you Carol Dallon, shame on you."

Amy blushed at the simple complement despite herself. It had been a very long time since anyone but Vicky had said something like that about her. Oh, there were plenty of compliments and kind words from grateful patents, but they were always directed at Panacea, not Amy. It was...nice.

Carol was less pleased however.

"How dare you…" she started, before she was cut off as a huge weight suddenly settled over the room.

"How dare I?" hissed Miya, now so angry that her power was starting to leak out in a faint purple aura that made her hair float and her eyes glow faintly, "I called you to inform you of your Daughters little mishap with my window and you respond by barging into my home and berating my guest and accusing her of all manner of erroneous things."

She reigned in her power and shook her head.

"I'm disappointed. I thought an experienced Hero would know better."

She shook her head again and pointed at the door.

"Get out. Victoria and Amy may stay, but I want you gone."

Carol stared at the Number 1 for a moment, before scowling and stalking towards the door.

"Come on Victoria, we're leaving," she growled.

Vicky scowled.

"If you think I'm going home with you after that, your dreaming!" she snarled.

Carol jerked back in shock and stared at her Daughter in disbelief as Vicky sat back down and hugged Amy again. Carol stared at the two for a moment longer, then glanced at Miya and, with a stiff nod, left the room. A moment later, there was the sound of the front door opening and closing, followed by a car door slamming and said car driving away. With Carol gone, the tension in the room faded.

Vicky sighed and gave her sister a squeeze.

"I'm sorry for that," she muttered.

Amy snorted.

"What are you apologizing for?" she asked, "You didn't say any of that. In a way, I'm kinda glad. Its nice to finally know how she really feels."

Vicky winced. She couldn't refute that, no matter how much she wanted. She also couldn't stay, regardless of how much her sister needed her. After all of the revelations, she desperately needed some time to think and someone to talk to, preferably someone whos window she hadn't broken in what had to be her most stupid move yet.

She sighed and looked up at Miya

"I'm sorry for the damage I caused," she said, "I'll pay you for the repairs when I get the chance."

Miya nodded as Vicky turned to Amy.

"Amy, I'm sorry but I...I need to go," she said.

Amy's head snapped up and Vicky caught the panicked look on her face. She quickly hugged her sister again.

"I'm not leaving you Ames," she said, "I...I just need some time to think all of this through, talk to Aunt Sarah about it all."

Amy relaxed against her and nodded.

"Alright, I understand," she said, "I'll...I'll be alright here. If thats OK Miya?"

Miya smiled and nodded.

"Of course it is dear," she said, "I'll never turn away someone in need."

She looked at Vicky and frowned.

"I'm not pleased with your actions tonight, but I understand that they were well intended," she said, "You are welcome to drop by when you want, but please use the front door."

Vicky blushed and nodded. She gave Amy one last squeeze and stood.

"I'd better go," she said, "I want to get to Aunt Sarahs before they go to bed."

She nodded to Miya and followed her Mother out of the house. Once she was gone, Amy took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," said Miya.

Amy gave a watery smile and shook her head.

"Not your fault," she said, "I just…"

She took a shuddering breath.

"Thank you for letting me stay," she said instead of finishing her thought.

Miya smiled.

"As I said, I don't turn people in need away," she said, "Especially not when their my Little Birds."

Amy smiled back weakly. She took another deep breath and stood.

"I need to…"

Miya just nodded and shooed her out of the room. Amy made her way upstairs, subconsciously following the bond back to Lucas room. She opened the door to find her...Ashikabi and Taylor talking quietly. They fell silent as she entered and turned to her. She didn't say anything, just crossed the room and hugged Lucas tightly as the tears she'd been holding back began to flow. She'd have time to think everything over later, for now, she was done with today.

 **And thats done. I have to say, as much as I enjoyed writing it, this was a lot harder than I expected. I'm not entirely happy with the whole confrontation between the Dallon ladies, but most of the time on this was spent figuring out how to get it done. I really hope I didn't go to far with Carol.**

 **So, a short but intense fight, followed by a pissed of Miya interrupt scaring everyone involved shitless. Pretty much what everyone expected.**

 **I bet they weren't expecting Miya to go full Mama Bear though. Actually, thats probably not that unexpected.**

 **I really don't think its that unlikely that Miya would take a Japanese name and its not like she doesn't deserve to be named after a Goddess. I dare say that we'll get to see her break that persona out again eventually.**

 **I...don't really have anything else to say here. I know that this has been another 'talky' chapter, but we should be getting back to the action next time as Bakuda steps up her game. Should be...interesting to say the least.**

 **Until then however, don't forget to leave a review!**


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